Meifu's Gate ::Second Manuscript::
by VraieEsprit
Summary: Juushirou wants to learn and Shunsui wants to take it easy. But the two boys are united in one thing - both of them believe in justice. When a crime polarises the Academy, the boys resolve to solve it - but it seems Elite society has many secrets to hide!
1. Prologue

**Meifu's Gate**

_Second Manuscript__**  
~Shukumei no Shinnyuusei~**_

_This story is a continuation from the prequel, bringing Ukitake and Kyouraku together at the Academy. It's a story of what __**might**__ have happened, not what __**did**__ happen. I've used the little clues Kubo-sensei has given us, but I've used them in the way I felt was best for the story._

_  
This is a story about the era in which the boys grew up and studied, not just a fiction about Ukitake and Kyouraku. There are a lot of issues going on in this story and a lot of 'it could've been this way' themes will rear their heads._

_  
It is not an all out bloodfest fighting fic. I don't write those. It's also not intended as a 'slash' fic - although I'm open to readers interpreting my rendition of the bond between Ukitake and Kyouraku in whatever way they want to. :) My focus is character driven and it always will be, so this is a story from that angle. (Though since I'm the one writing the story, it's almost a certainty that there will be an amount of blood, gore and death before it's finished.)  
_

_Basically, this is my view of Shunsui and Juu-kun at school. I thought long and hard about the way people might want/expect to see this story. But then a good friend said to me that if I didn't write it true to my own way of thinking, it'd fall apart and I'd lose interest. So in the end, that's what I've done. _

_**Disclaimer**__  
This story is simply a labour of Ukitake & Kyouraku fan-love, and not intended by any means as a definitive account of their Academy days.  
_  
_The canon characters belong to Kubo-sensei, as does the concept of the world I'm busy redecorating. All other characters are of my devising, though may be inspired and/or based around concepts used by Kubo-sensei in the existing Bleach storyline. Only Kubo-sensei's interpretation of any Bleach character or situation is canon - all others - mine included - are down to the affection of the fans and may be contradicted by future chapters of Manga not in print at the time of publishing._

**  
Prologue**

"Tomorrow, we begin again."

From his position by the window, the bearded man pursed his lips, his wizened brow creasing as he contemplated the days ahead. "It seems almost no time at all, yet things are moving so quickly. Ten years is no time at all, considering. And even now, none of the Shinigami who've completed the program have been anywhere near the right level to take any kind of lead. However…"

"However, to form squads of any kind is an achievement in itself, Genryuusai-sama."

His companion, a young, fair-skinned woman cast him a gentle smile, setting down the book she had been reading to meet his troubled gaze with her sympathetic one. Though she appeared not much more than her middle twenties, there was something serene and composed in his companion's bearing, and despite his anxieties, Genryuusai found himself somewhat reassured by her simple calm.

"This time ten years ago, the Gotei were in severe difficulties." She continued now. "Without your drive and inspiration, none of this would have begun. Yet, because of your efforts, we have young ones training to be Shinigami in a way that has never happened before. The world is changing. And you are at the forefront of changing it. That's something to take pride in, surely."

"Yes, it is." Genryuusai admitted slowly. "And this year…this year is important in its own way. This year's intake are not just from the lower levels of the Great Houses. At least two or three of the new students are from lower levels of society – and it gives me hope that as time goes on, word will spread even across those levels to other families with gifted children. There are so many untapped resources in Seireitei. We need them now more than ever. Yet if even the Great Houses struggle to provide lesser children of Gotei rank…"

"Gotei rank meaning, I suppose, fit to wear the _haori_?" The woman asked gently, brushing her white cloak pensively as she did so. "If I may say so, I think I disagree. The _haori_ is a noble symbol of power and leadership. In the world you've envisaged, it will be a flag of peace and a sign of security for many to flock to, I feel. A leader should wear a _haori_, Genryuusai-sama. But just because not all are at a level strong enough to wear it, it doesn't mean they have no gifts at all. On the contrary, there is a lot to be said for those students who have begun to form the new squads. We have much to look forward to from them, I think, as time goes on. And, perhaps, more to learn about ourselves."

She smiled.

"After all, great things cannot be accomplished overnight. It took several generations to establish a Gotei system in the beginning, after all. To get so many powerful Clans to work in tandem with one another was unimaginable at one point, was it not? I don't remember such a time, sure enough - but I realise that you do."

"I do." Genryuusai agreed pensively. "And it's that memory which has driven me to believe in doing this most of all."

He pursed his lips.

"Noble born Shinigami with their spiritual energy honed to perfection have a long life potential." He added. "I'm living proof of that fact - even now my strength far belies my years. Yet even now too many born gifted die prematurely in this violent society of ours - whether within their own Clans over family honour or in other places against enemies such as Hollows. Pride is not such a strict master in the lower levels of Seireitei society, yet I don't believe hard work is lacking in those sectors. Perhaps the squad method will, in the end, be a more satisfactory answer."

"Either way, something needed to be done." His companion said softly. "The Real World has become unstable. Hollows are able to rip easily through the divide that separates us from their dwelling places. More, they are not weak Hollows, and we are still learning so many things about the_ reiryoku_ we all have. When we were considering only eight active Shinigami armed with _zanpakutou_ in rank at any one time, the possibility of learning new techniques and understanding new points of view was severely restricted. Your Academy is an answer to that problem. Already in the last fifty years regulations have been relaxed so that others beyond the Gotei representative can summon, release and train with _zanpakutou_ if they have the requisite skill to do so. I have no doubt that as time moves on, the graduates of this Academy too will come to teach us as much as we are hoping to teach them."

She spread her hands.

"And there are none better for them to learn from, after all, than the first Shinigami to ever release his _zanpakutou_ to Bankai level." She added lightly. "Even though you are not currently wearing a _haori_ yourself, Genryuusai-sama, there is noone in Seireitei who doubts your pedigree to teach these young ones everything they need to know. You are, after all, Gotei in spirit, if not in current rank. After all, even before you began this school, those you taught as private students are starting to step into the role of Squad Leader. Even though they are very new concepts as yet – I have no doubt that, in time, there will be strong Captains of great value to rely on in the new Gotei system."

"Perhaps." Genryuusai acknowledged. "Admittedly, it has raised less consternation than I expected, suggesting the inauguration of these new Captains and bringing old students of mine into a position of authority. But there have been severe Hollow raids lately, in this world and the other. The Council too has started to realise the danger this imbalance poses to all of us, not just the unfortunates trapped in Rukongai and beyond. Eight Shinigami is no longer enough – seven, if you consider that no one has taken the Kyouraku _haori_ since Matsuhara's unfortunate death. Even with the Urahara's recent breakthroughs and studies, more needs to be done. Squads Nine through Twelve may not be of the same vintage or influence yet as the Gotei traditions of One through Eight. But in time, I hope to change that."

He sighed.

"Yet even so, the new leaders of these new squads are still irrevocably tied into the Clan system." He murmured regretfully. "Squad Nine is Kuchiki-run. Squad Ten is currently being guided by Shiba Kyouki's second son, even though he's only just managed to muster Shikai this past month. Squad Eleven is taken by a kinsman of my own, and Twelve is currently in the hands of the Urahara. More, those who have been seconded into squads to support the existing Gotei are also, largely, comprised of a Clan's individual kinsmen and women. It is a solution, but not _the_ solution. More must yet be done – the Clans alone can no longer handle this problem."

"Yes." His companion looked thoughtful. "So long as they are drawn from Clans, the Noble Council of Elders cannot and will not object. That is why they have so far left your Academy largely alone. But it's clear to me, Genryuusai-sama, that it may not continue that way. The last Council ballot is proof of that. Your majority was only by one, in the end."

"And I know full well that it's your vote I have to thank for it, too." Genryuusai smiled slightly. "Though I don't think I ever doubted it, I really didn't know how the Kuchiki and the Urahara might vote. Their abstention still concerns me – but for the time being, your continued support is invaluable, Retsu. That you and your Clan are not intimidated by the negativity of other Clans…I don't know what this place would be without it."

"Unofficially, I'm willing to help in any capacity I can." Retsu said simply, offering him another smile. "I cast the vote with my Clan's agreement, but it was also my own personal opinion that your plans should be allowed to continue forward. Officially, it's a little more difficult to become directly involved in the Academy. The growing pressures of my Gotei role and my Clan position means that I'm torn at times even between those things. But I believe in this Academy, without a doubt. I believe in your methods as both leader of the Gotei families and as a sensei of many years good standing. Indeed, as _my_ sensei, not so long ago."

Amusement glittered in her beautiful eyes.

"I feel almost sad that _I_ was not able to study in a place like this." She murmured. "Your students are fortunate in that they'll learn together, and build cameraderie from the first meeting. It is the way things should be done, after all, for the benefit of Seireitei's future. And I will always say as much to any who ask me."

"If I have even two students in fifty who possess half your ability, Retsu, I will be well-satisfied with my efforts." Genryuusai smiled despite himself. "You know full well how much the Gotei have come to rely on your knowledge and skill, even in the fifteen years since you accepted the _haori_. If I could have even a few of your calibre, I feel sure that we'll be able to turn the tide."

"You flatter me too much, as always." Retsu laughed. "But I do take my role seriously, and I will work hard with those you've assigned to my care, with the idea of forming a true healing squad based on the ideas and values instilled in every member of the Unohana clan almost from birth. If we can fight, and we can heal, then we can prevail. So I believe. To destroy something is a strength, but to fix it is a true gift from the Gods. And I feel blessed that that power lies in my hands."

"Thanks to your help, also, this year's intake number six girls among the eighteen new students." Genryuusai reflected. "So many families are reluctant to let their daughters go into danger, when so many females are born with equal power to their male kin. It's been a source of frustration for me many times over. But that a cousin of your own is enrolled here, and that you – a female representative of the Gotei – are so endorsing this place – I think, maybe, things are beginning to change."

"Shiba Kyouki-sama feels the same way, and that's why she's sending her daughter this time too." Retsu added, a faint, amused smile on her pretty features. "She visited District Four recently, and we had a long and detailed discussion on the subject."

"Kyouki-dono is very forward-minded in her mode of address." Genryuusai admitted. "But that's all to the good, having two strong female Gotei representatives and Clan leaders in Seireitei at the same time."

"Our Districts are conveniently placed, also, for covert feminine conspiracy." Retsu said lightly, and Genryuusai let out a low chuckle.

"I can well believe it." He admitted ruefully. "But if it's that way, I'm glad. We can't afford to sacrifice fifty percent of our potential based on outmoded conventions and backwards social ideas, after all."

"This world belongs to all of us. A woman's instinct to protect is just as strong as a man's, at the end of the day." Retsu said comfortably. "If, perhaps, it is sometimes expressed in a different way."

"Yes. Exactly." Genryuusai nodded.

"On another note, Genryuusai-sama, I remember you said there was a particular student that you thought you wanted my advice regarding?" Retsu changed the subject, tilting her head on one side and eying him quizzically. "Would it be better that I know now, before they arrive tomorrow?"

"Yes, it would." Genryuusai agreed. "It's the boy from the Ukitake family, Retsu. Juushirou, his name is. The one we spoke about before, when I first had contact from my old student Kamikura."

"Ukitake Juushirou." Retsu murmured the name. "I see. The Ukitake family have a long history of cursed medical health, do they not? I believe I have heard something of it in the past, when members of my family's healing order have been called upon to administer treatment in emergency situations."

"This one is an exceptional case." Genryuusai replied. "And I have great hopes for him in this new world we're working hard to create. But even so, the path towards that is far from simple. He was born sickly – and though he doesn't have an unpleasant countenance or a negative manner, his frailty is all too apparent the moment you see him. Still, he has the most amazing spiritual energy of any child I have met from a lower level family. I understand he has some distant Kuchiki blood, which may account for it – but his potential is immense. More, his intellect and general academic understanding is of a superior level, also. Of all the guidance tests submitted, his scores ranked him joint second out of the eighteen, even though I understood his poor health had meant at least eighteen months hiatus in his studies at one point during his development."

He frowned.

"So much potential, and yet…"

"Yet power of that level can damage as much as it can be honed to fight." Retsu said softly. "And as one of Seireitei's civilian classes, he won't have received adequate training in how to manage that, even at this point. I see. You wish for me to be on standby, perhaps, in case he pushes himself too far?"

"With a condition like this, I think you will probably be the best and only person to call on in such an emergency." Genryuusai agreed. "I believe he will go a long way, so long as I can train him to use his power in the right manner. But it may take time to get there, and he'll take a battering on the way."

He cast Retsu a quizzical glance.

"You can't tell me of any way to cure the boy's ailments?"

"There are limits to my Kidou." Retsu shook her head. "Even with the arts my clan have perfected over the generations...if its an inherited disease, I'm afraid it forms a core part of his being. It is with him till he dies. There is no cure for it."

She pursed her lips.

"Indeed, in the past, the numbers who have been saved from such a condition have been few and far between." She murmured. "For the most part, babies born with it do not survive infancy. That this young one has indicates his strength is of the level you say - if it was not, he would likely not have made it to this stage. But whilst I will do all I can to help if my help is needed, I will not be able to cure him."

"Well, even so, I'm grateful." Genryuusai admitted.

"And of the others? Six girls, so twelve boys? You said eighteen, after all."

"Yes." Genryuusai agreed. "Mostly from various levels of the Noble Families, but not all. They have all performed well on the guidance tests, and I feel sure they will form a good group once they've had a chance to understand the basics of Shinigami combat."

He paused, then,

"In fact, there is only one of the new intake who concerns me slightly."

"Concerns you?"

"Yes." Genryuusai's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "But I suppose we will see how things go. I will make no prior judgements of my students, Retsu, not without seeing them here first. After all, even first impressions can be misleading. I'll let them find their feet, and then we'll see. Maybe among this intake will be some true Shinigami of the future."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_  
_It's my strong belief that Unohana is older than Ukitake and Kyouraku. Kyouraku calls her 'Dai-senpai' which suggests that she was there before they were, and also, possibly, that she may have studied under Yamamoto. But we know Ukitake and Kyouraku are the first Captains to graduate from his Academy. So Unohana wasn't a student there._

_I greatly suspect that Unohana was noble-born, even if her clan are no longer in prominence in the modern storyline. But that's speculation on my part._


	2. The Spring And The Source

**Chapter One: ****The Spring and the Source****  
**

So the day had finally come.

Juushirou ran his fingers excitedly over the white and blue of his student's _hakama_, his gaze straying across the grounds of what was possibly the biggest building he had ever seen in his life before. In all his seventeen years he had never strayed far from the family estate, and the journey from his home in Seireitei's Sixth District to the Academy's position in the First had taken almost two full days to complete. Yet somehow he wasn't in the least bit tired and, as his clever hazel eyes absorbed his new surroundings, he realised he wasn't apprehensive in the least.

On the contrary, he was full of excitement and anticipation for the road ahead.

"Well?" A voice from behind him made him start, and he turned, a rueful expression touching his gaze as he met his tutor's quizzical look.

"I was wondering if you were going to stand and stare all day, or if you wanted to go inside." Kamikura said teasingly, patting his companion on the shoulder. "You've never looked so starstruck, my boy - did you never see a noble house before?"

"A noble...?" Juushirou shook his head. "No. Not one like this. Is that what it is, then? A noble...house? But..."

"It's a former Yamamoto Clan estate that Genryuusai-sensei's converted for the purpose of forming his school." Kamikura nodded his head. "But most Great Noble residences are of this size or greater, Juushirou-sama. You should get used to the atmosphere. This is the world you're stepping into now, after all. Your classmates, many of them, will be quite used to this kind of thing."

"I suppose so." Juushirou bit his lip. "I just...I've never even been to the Kuchiki manor, sensei. And I hadn't expected...something like this. An estate? For one family? But you could house hundreds here, surely?"

"Which makes it the perfect base for a school, don't you think?" Kamikura's eyes danced, and Juushirou's pale cheeks reddened as he realised how stupid his words had sounded.

"I suppose I'm just surprised." He said at length. "I'm sorry, sensei. I'm not making much sense even to myself, at the moment. I'm just excited to be here."

"Yes, I can see that." Kamikura grinned. "I'm glad, too, that you're so fired up even after the long journey. When I promised Kaede-sama I'd bring you myself, I realised it would be in some ways a severing of ties between us, after all. I'm not your sensei any more, now. You've graduated on to bigger and better teachers than I can be - but don't let me down, all right? Show them you're no fool, and that you've been well taught up to this point, even if you're not of superior blood."

"I'd never let you down." Juushirou grinned. "You'll always be my sensei, anyway. Even if you spend more time tutoring my siblings, now - you've always been someone I could turn to if I needed to. More, especially, since Father's death. You've always been honest with me, and never underestimated me, even when I underestimated myself. I'm grateful for that, you know. It's because of you I'm here now. Of course I won't shame you. I promise."

"That's enough for me, then." Kamikura smiled, though there was sadness in his eyes. "I'm really very fond of you, after all. And though your siblings will keep me busy from now till the summer recess, I've no doubt the house will seem strange without you. When I see you next, Juushirou-sama, you may be quite a different person, after all."

"In a matter of a few months?" Juushirou snorted, shaking his head. "I don't think so. I'm not going to change who I am. I'm just going to learn to use what I have in a better way. That's all."

"Well, you never know." Kamikura laughed, reaching up a finger to brush the ends of his companion's newly shorn white hair. "This is a change already, after all. After seventeen years of seeing you with your hair in a haphazard tail, it's quite a surprise to see you with short hair."

"I know." Juushirou looked self-conscious. "I suppose...I felt it might get in my way. Besides, I thought too that if I cut it, well, Anika always says hair that's cut regularly grows more quickly. And I thought, if I cut it short, maybe it would grow again. And...and maybe it would grow back black."

"I see." Kamikura's tones softened. "It still bothers you, then, being 'Shiro-nii'?"

"It doesn't bother me so much as I know it's not how it was before." Juushirou sighed. "I'm not vain, and I don't care that it means I have different looks from my siblings. That's not important. It's just that, whenever I look in the mirror, I'm reminded a little bit about Father and why he isn't here. My hair turned the night he died, after all. And I hoped, even though I know I can't bring him back, that if my hair grew back black again it'd be a sign to him - if he's still watching over me at all - that I've fully recovered from then. That I'm all right, and moving forwards again. It's a reminder of the weakness inside of me, and I want to be strong. That's all."

"At the end of the day, I think your Father would be happiest to see you here, at the Academy gates." Kamikura said wisely. "Utilising your abilities with your family and your world's safety in mind. I'm sure a little thing like hair colour wouldn't trouble him in the slightest. It's the soul you have inside that he was always so proud of. And he has reason to be proud again today. Whether your hair grows back black or it doesn't, it won't change your resolution, will it? You've stepped onto a new path of learning...and from here, the sky's the limit."

"I suppose that's true." Juushirou acknowledged. "Well, what will be will be, I suppose. Either way, I'm eager to see what classes are going to be like and how Genryuusai-sensei intends on helping me to manage my strength properly. He said it would be hard, so I'm prepared for all kinds of things to happen."

He glanced at his fingers.

"Maybe I'll learn how to do the things Father did when the Hollow attacked us." He murmured. "The magic he fired in my defence. I've been wondering about a lot of things like that these last few weeks. About what kind of things I'll learn to do, and whether I'll be any good at it. But I'll do my best, whatever I'm asked. I'm sure of that."

"Just make sure you don't push yourself too far too fast." Kamikura warned him. "I know you, Juushirou-sama. I know your stubborn will. You'll want to jump two steps instead of taking them one at a time, and I don't want you to trip and fall."

"I'll try and remember." Juushirou pinkened. "And sensei? Please, I don't want you to call me Juushirou-sama any more. It's always been for form only, but now I'm here and everything's changing, I feel...I'm almost an adult myself, now. And I'd rather...well, I'm not going to inherit Father's position. That's between the twins to settle, not me, and I'm all right about that. I'm going to work things out for myself. But you can just call me Juushirou, now. I'd like it better if you did. Because that's who I am. Ukitake Juushirou. And it's all I've got to be working with."

"If you're sure." Kamikura looked surprised, but he grinned. "All right. Juushirou it is."

"And I will write - to you and to Okaasama, and to Chi-chan because she's the only one who'll be bothered to write back." Juushirou added. "I'll try and tell you everything so you won't feel I'm gone that far away. All right?"

"All right, but don't put that before enjoying your time here." Kamikura advised him. "It's not just about training. It's about something else you've had seldom little practice at as yet."

"What do you mean?" Juushirou stared at him, and Kamikura grinned.

"Making friends." He said lightly, and Juushirou reddened once more.

"That's only because Father kept me close to home on account of my health." He defended himself. "I'm not shy and I'm not anti-social. You make it sound like I'm hampered in some regard, but I can talk to people! Coming from a family like mine, how could it be any other way?"

"True, and I don't doubt that for a moment." Kamikura responded. "But in all seriousness, people aren't always all they seem. You have an idealistic naivety even now, at times - you can be very grown up and I know better than anyone the depths of your understanding. But until you meet and work with your classmates, you won't really understand this Noble world you're trying to break into. They may not accept you straight away. They may even try to isolate you, at first, on account of your birth. But don't let them get away with it, okay? You're better than that and here by right. Don't ever forget it."

"Genryuusai-sensei said that my scores on his tests ranked me equal second with one of the other students." Juushirou responded. "Which means I should be able to hold my own."

He smiled, a resolute glint touching his hazel eyes.

"And I won't let anyone else think otherwise." He murmured. "Father'd be cross, if I sat back and let that happen. Don't worry, sensei. I'll keep it in mind."

"Then this is where we part."

Regret coloured Kamikura's dark eyes and he sighed, resting his hand briefly on the youngster's shoulder, then stepping back.

"Do as Genryuusai-sensei tells you, and make sure you come home in one piece." He said softly, and Juushirou snorted.

"I'm going to school. Not to war." He returned neatly. "And I intend on listening. I'm going to be just fine. You'll see."

"Then I'll tell your mother that you're safely arrived and to anticipate a letter at some point." Kamikura smiled. "Goodbye, Juushirou. Make sure you take every chance you have to make your Father proud."

With that he was gone, and Juushirou was alone, gazing up once more at the imposing building.

For the briefest of instants, panic stirred inside of him as he realised that for the first time since the day he had been born, he was completely severed from his family. Yet he gathered his wits, stepping purposefully over the stone cobbles and into the courtyard. As he did so, he registered others dressed in the same basic _hakama_ as he was, and, occasionally, he caught sight of a flash of red interspersed amid the blue and white waves. Though there were in reality probably no more than sixty or so people in the immediate vicinity, to the largely sheltered Juushirou it seemed like hundreds.

_And now, I'm going to be a part of this too._

Somehow the feeling made his heart swell with warmth, even as he remembered his teacher's warning.

_Even if the Noble Houses aren't sure at first, I'll prove to them somehow that I'm not here to mock the system. That I want to learn and become strong - and then it'll be all right, surely? Then, if they see that, I'm sure they'll accept me. These are people my own age, after all. They're not Clan leaders making big decisions for their families. They're not that different from me, surely?_

With that resolve buoying his confidence, he made his way towards the huge entrance archway, carefully negotiating the smooth stone steps towards the building within. He knew that his small amount of luggage had been sent on ahead, so that he would not have to worry about manoeuvring it in the chaos of first day, and he found himself glad of this fact as he surveyed the melee of students. Some were obviously old hands, and a couple even had swords at their belts, suggesting they had progressed already to the point of wielding a weapon in combat.

One such individual stood at the top of the steps, giving out instructions to the students as they swarmed towards him. He was tall and lean, yet somehow his bearing was more sinewy than skinny, and pale blond hair was pulled back from his face in a classic warrior's tail. Pale eyes gazed out from beneath the wisps of a floppy fringe, and gazing at him, Juushirou had an impression of both intelligence and serenity in the stranger's bearing. Although he was surrounded by people, all of them clamouring for his attention at once, he did not seem to even be breaking a sweat as he answered them each in turn, and as Juushirou watched, every instruction the older man gave was greeted with a fervent bow and an immediate action.

As Juushirou squinted at this stranger's sword, he realised that the hilt was somewhat curved and different from the generic ones he had seen before. He frowned, not fully understanding what this meant, yet from the way the other students listened to his orders, he guessed that whoever the young man was, he was a senior student and one who had been training for some time.

A senpai.

Juushirou pursed his lips.

In all his years being schooled by Kamikura, he had never had a 'senpai'. As the eldest of his long family, he had always set the benchmark and been the first to tackle any new topic or level of understanding. Yet the young man who stood at the top of the steps was not only older and stronger, but one with a commanding presence that even the most confused and rowdy of students seemed loath to disobey.

At that moment, he was jerked from his reverie as something shot past him, shoving him backwards and causing his sandaled feet to slip on the polished stone. He let out an involuntary cry of surprise as he tumbled, half expecting the sudden harsh impact of the rock against his body, yet from somewhere in the crowd he heard a curse and then someone grabbed his arm, hauling him back to his feet and out of the immediate rush of students to a safer alcove off to one side.

"You oughtn't wander in a daze. You'll get hurt." Someone said, and Juushirou blinked, glancing up at the stranger blankly.

It had been a young woman who had spoken, he realised, and at a glance she appeared to be much the same age as he was, her gaze on a level with his as she eyed him with a mixture of amusement and impatience. Thick black hair curled over her shoulders in two haphazard tails, and vivid green eyes glanced him up and down, clearly sizing him up in the same way as he had been analysing her. She wore the same uniform as he did, though hers was coloured in red instead of blue, and was tied above her waist, instead of at the midriff like Juushirou's own. She was pretty, he realised, yet there was a determination in her expression that suggested she would not consider 'pretty' to be a compliment. Despite himself, Juushirou was unsure what to say. As he gathered his wits, he caught sight of a pendant around the girl's throat, and his eyes widened as he made out the unmistakeable insignia of one of the Great Noble Houses of Seireitei engraved onto its gleaming surface.

As the silence continued, the girl raised an eyebrow, eying him quizzically.

"Don't you speak?" She demanded. "Or did I knock your voice-box out when I ran into you?"

"I'm sorry." Juushirou remembered his manners at that moment, bowing his head towards her apologetically. "I was completely in my own world and I didn't look where I was going. I hope I didn't hurt you in any way?"

"Bashing into a twig like you?" The girl snorted. "Don't be stupid. I'm much more likely to have shattered you than the other way around."

She tilted her head on one side, eying him pensively.

"You were out of it, but I guess I was rushing without looking too." She acknowledged. "So it's probably half of one and fifty percent of the other. Just, I was looking for someone, and if you let them get too far out of your sight..."

She shrugged, offering him a dazzling smile, and despite himself, Juushirou found himself returning it.

"You know what you're meant to be doing, now?"

"Not really." Juushirou admitted. "Today's my first day, and I'm not really certain..."

"Good, then you can come help me." The girl decided, slipping her arm into his and pulling him back away from the entrance. "Two sets of eyes are better than one, after all."

"But..." Juushirou protested, taken off guard by this whirlwind behaviour, and the girl laughed.

"Well, it works out." She said philosophically. "You just said you were first year, right? So am I. Today's my first day, too. And the person we're looking for, he's the same. Right?"

"I..."

"Do you have a name, by the way?"

"Ukitake Juushirou." Juushirou said faintly, and the girl frowned.

"Ukitake, huh?"

"Yes." Juushirou nodded slowly. "Why? What about it?"

"Nothing at all." The girl grinned. "Just, I'd heard about it, that's all. That there was someone who wasn't Noble born who'd snuck their way into the top rankings on the entrance for this place. Lots of people have been talking about it - that the first time non-Noble children start enrolling here, one of them breaks into the top class right away. Nobody expected it. That's all. But that's you, isn't it? Ukitake. I'm sure that's what Papa said."

"Yes." Juushirou recovered himself. "I was joint second. But I didn't realise it was such a big deal. I mean, that your Father would know..."

"Papa knows pretty much everything that's going on anywhere." The girl said dismissively. "But then, the Great Houses are like that. They find things out. But I suppose you won't know that, will you? I don't know where the Ukitake family come from, or what its like in that section of society. But I don't suppose you have much direct contact with the rich bods who run your District, do you?"

"None whatsoever." Juushirou agreed. "We live in Sixth District - but it's as you say."

"Sixth? Kuchiki, huh?" The girl grinned. "That's why I ain't heard of you, then, probably."

She paused suddenly, swinging around to face him and taking him once more off guard.

"I'm Shiba Sora, by the way." She said frankly, holding out her hand, and after a moment of hesitation, Juushirou took it, shaking it hesitantly. "My Clan control Fifth District. So we're neighbours, in a sense. But a very wide ranging sense."

"Pleased to meet you, Shiba-san." Juushirou found his tongue, and Sora snorted, shaking her head.

"If you call me that, I won't answer." She warned him. "My Clan may be Nobility, but we don't sit around and play polite games. You call me Sora, else we'll not get along. And since we're in the same class, that'd be a pain, wouldn't it?"

"The same class?" Juushirou eyed her for a moment, then, "Wouldn't it be seen as rude, though, if I just called you..."

"You'll soon learn that anyone who calls me anything but Sora doesn't get an answer." Sora shook her head. "My Mother's always taught me that it's what you're made of that's important, not how high you stand on your pedestal. The Shiba-ke are a very down to earth Clan, after all. But I'll forgive you for not knowing that - since you don't know about the Clans, you couldn't have expected it."

"I suppose not." Despite himself, Juushirou smiled. "And if that's how you feel, then I'll try and remember. My tutor was worried about how I'd find meeting Clan members, after all - but if they're like you, it won't be so hard."

"Mm, well, the Shiba are the Shiba." Sora pursed her lips. "But you'll understand what I mean sooner by meeting folk than my telling you."

She chuckled.

"My Mother is head of the Shiba-ke." She added casually. "And she drives some of the stuck up male chauvinists in the other Clans crazy by refusing to bow to common convention. I have two elder brothers, too - well, almost three - but even though they're strong and skilled fighters, they'd never dare cross Okaasama unless they truly had a death wish. So I suppose that, because of Okaasama, the Shiba are left alone to do their own thing without interference from outside. We're a strong Clan, and always have been. Other Clans sometimes fear us because of it. But especially because of Okaasama."

"Is it unusual, then, for a woman to be head of a Clan?" Juushirou asked, and Sora laughed, nodding.

"You really are innocent, aren't you?" She reflected, a faint note of condescension in her tones, and despite himself, Juushirou was riled.

"It's not innocent to ask questions about things if you don't know the answer." He said stiffly. "It's how you learn. Besides, you already said you knew nothing about me or my family. So you're just as innocent, if that's the case. You don't know beyond your world any more than I do mine."

Sora paused for a moment, staring at him, then she laughed, clapping her hand down hard against his back and causing him to cough.

"Touché." She acknowledged. "Looks like when you find your tongue, you speak your mind. That's a good sign - I think I'm going to like you, if you're like that. It'd be a pain if you were intimidated by the Clans, after you'd come all this way already. You must be something special, after all, to rank joint second and beat Clan members like that."

She shrugged.

"Me included." She added good-naturedly. "I ranked fifth. So you're up on me by three places, Ukitake-kun."

"Two, technically, since I was joint second and therefore there'd be no third place." Juushirou corrected her. "And if I'm calling you Sora, you might as well call me Juushirou. Otherwise _you're_ the one standing on ceremony, aren't you?"

Sora chuckled, holding up her hands.

"You really aren't how you look, are you?" She observed. "You really look fragile enough to break, Juushirou-kun - but you're not, are you? You're something else. It's interesting. I wonder if the Academy is ready for it."

She gave his arm a tug.

"Come on. This way. We'll take a short cut...and see if he's hiding round the back."

"You said you were beginning today, too." Juushirou objected, as they disappeared between two close-set buildings towards the rear of the school grounds. "How do you know so well where things are? You don't seem new to it at all."

"Well, I've been here before. Several times." Sora shrugged. "Most of the Noble intake will have had induction here, in any case - social connections and whatever else, making sure it's all suitable, yada yada. But my Father's on the school board. He knows Genryuusai-sensei very well, and so this isn't a new place for me to come. It was Genryuusai-sensei's suggestion that I was enrolled here, in fact, since I've been coming here with Papa on and off for the last three years and Sensei was looking to take on more female students. Okaasama grasped onto that with both hands - besides, she figured it might keep me out of trouble to come, so here I am. I might as well use up some of my spare energy, she said - so I guess we'll see if I do."

"I see." Juushirou did not completely see, but he decided it would be as well to let it go. "So the student with the sword, at the top of the steps - you know who he is?"

"Yes." Sora grinned. "Urahara Yunosuke. He likes giving orders - can you tell?"

"Urahara." Juushirou murmured.

"Yes. You know that they're one of the Clans too, right?"

"Yes. I know." Juushirou agreed. "But he's important in the school somehow? I mean, he seemed...and his sword was different. I saw some students with swords before, but his wasn't like theirs. It was special."

"You really don't know a lot yet, do you?" Sora sighed. "I guess it can't be helped. But you know what a _zanpakutou_ is, at least, right?"

"Yes." Juushirou nodded. "The weapon Gotei members use to kill Hollows. But..."

His eyes widened.

"That...was that a _zanpakutou_? A proper one?"

"A sealed, sleeping one. Yes." Sora agreed. "Urahara-senpai is a senior student and he's the nephew of the current Urahara-ke leader and Gotei representative. He's one Genryuusai-sensei has a lot of hope for, according to Papa. Summoning a _zanpakutou_ is hard, after all - it requires a lot of control and strength and focus. And to have one that you can release...Urahara-senpai's studied here for five years already, and he only managed to summon and release his sword to a basic level in the last few months. But because he's managed to do it, it means he'll probably get an automatic admission to Genryuusai-sensei's projected squad program. And that means he's a senpai who's looked up to across the board. That's why he has that kind of influence. Genryuusai-sensei gave him the title '_Anideshi_' - which means, essentially, he gets to boss the rest of us about."

She sighed.

"The truth is, up till now, only the Gotei Shinigami have really been able to exploit their swords to the fullest potential." She admitted wistfully. "I don't know if any of us have a hope of getting to that point, since none of us are 'chosen ones', as such. Even though just this year my second brother's been given a Captain's placement in one of the newest squad programs, he's only been using a _zanpakutou_ for a short time and he's nowhere near reached the highest levels. It's difficult, utilising spirit power. And we're second place, if you like."

She frowned, eying him for a moment, then,

"Well, _you_ might not be - for your family, you're probably way out in first even being here. But the rest of us - we're here because we don't have a chance of being first place. Probably not even my brother does when compared to Okaasama, in truth. Most of us end up here to see what we can do with what power we have. And if we can master it, we'll gain some rank in the Gotei squads and be useful to our Clans and Seireitei that way. But we might never get there."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Still, Urahara-senpai's uncle is a very smart man." She added. "It's because of research he did that the way Shinigami act and fight is developing and changing. So who knows? Maybe there will be a place for us in this new system, after all."

"I guess I really don't understand much about all of those things, yet." Juushirou looked thoughtful. "But no doubt I will, now I'm here."

He cast his companion a quizzical glance.

"You said you were looking for someone. Another first year, like us - didn't you?"

"Yeah." Sora grimaced, rolling her eyes. "I'm not best pleased with it, but since Tokutarou-niisama asked it of Okaasama as a specific favour, there wasn't any getting out of it. It's the biggest pain in the world, t'be honest - playing babysitter to a kid like that in a place like this."

"Babysitter?" Juushirou looked lost. "And a favour from...your brother asked your Mother and...you have to baby-sit someone?"

"Your face." Sora laughed, amusement dancing across her clever green eyes. "No. It's not like that. Tokutarou-nii isn't my real brother. Only he spent so much time with my family growing up that he might as well be, you see? He's actually from the Kyouraku-ke, but his mother was Mother's cousin, so in that respect it's like he's part of our family too. Tokutarou-niisama is head of the Kyouraku-ke, now. And he asked the favour of Okaasama because he knew that if _she_ asked me, there was no way I'd be able to say no."

"And the person you have to baby-sit?"

"Tokutarou-nii's brother Shunsui." Sora pulled another graphic face. "Baby-sit is the wrong word, really. Shunsui-kun's a year older than me, to be honest. But you wouldn't know it. He's the most infuriating, irresponsible, lazy..."

She trailed off, shaking her head in resignation.

"He couldn't be more different from Tokutarou-nii." She said frankly. "But I guess that's because Tokutarou-nii has Shiba blood, too. Because it's always said that Tokutarou-nii's father went to lengths to get out of doing his duty - even in training Tokutarou-nii to be his heir, in fact. And Shunsui takes after him. In a lot of ways."

She rubbed her temples.

"Shunsui and I aren't even family." She concluded. "Not really. Not by blood. But there it is. I gave my word. I can't break it. Even if it is annoying."

"Kyouraku...Shunsui." Juushirou murmured the name. "I see."

"No, you don't yet." Sora cast him a rueful smile. "But you will, when you meet him. He's also in our class, see, so it's not like you won't ever cross his path."

She sighed.

"God knows how Tokutarou-nii managed that." She reflected pensively. "I wonder if he had a word with Papa who had a word with Genryuusai-sensei in order to make it easier for me to keep the idiot under close scrutiny...but I don't know for sure. Either way, I very much doubt it has anything to do with him sitting an exam. I'm pretty sure he's never done anything like that in his life."

She snorted.

"Far as I heard it, his tutors used to have to lock him in the classroom just to get him to attend their lessons." She said disparagingly. "To get him to sit the guidance papers, they'd have to strap him down, most likely."

"It sounds like you dislike him quite a lot." Juushirou observed. Sora shook her head.

"No...to be honest, it's not that." She admitted. "He's not a malicious person, just lazy and cheeky and he likes to tease. It's just...I know that if Shunsui doesn't want to do something, he doesn't do it. And it's going to be a headache and a half if I'm supposed to stop him doing what he wants to do for the entirety of the time we're here. Tokutarou-nii sent him here, so that means he's too much work for him to handle. How am _I_ meant to do anything, when faced with someone who's particular talent is hiding from anything that requires him to exert effort?"

"It does seem like he's in the wrong place, from that." Despite himself, Juushirou grinned. "What does he look like? If you want me to help you to look for him, I will - but it's hard for me to do anything if I don't know who I'm looking for."

"That's true." Sora looked sheepish. "He's about a half head taller than me - certainly he's better built than you, you look like you've been starved for the last month, whereas he's a bocchan who likes the good life. He has brown hair - curly, messy if you like - and brown eyes, providing when you find him, he's actually awake. But you'll know him when you meet him, I'm sure of that. In my whole life, I swear, I've never met anyone as...as completely infuriatingly impossible as Shunsui."

"So far you're giving me an interesting impression of the Clans." Juushirou reflected. "You said he was a year older than you, didn't you? Can I ask how old you are, then? You look the same age as me, but..."

"Sixteen." Sora grinned. "You?"

"Seventeen, as of last Winter." Juushirou responded. "Then Kyouraku-kun is my age?"

"Six months older." Sora responded. "If you were born in Winter. Shunsui's birthday is in the Summer."

She glanced at him for a moment, then,

"I guess that fits." She mused. "Even in the ten minutes I've known you, Juushirou-kun, I can already tell that you and he are probably as different as chalk and cheese."

"Ukitake Juushirou?" Before Sora could respond, a voice interrupted them, and the two new students turned, Juushirou's eyes widening as he recognised the senpai he had observed earlier.

_Urahara...Yunosuke, had Sora said? _

He was dressed in the same uniform, yet somehow there was something extra in the other student's bearing, and at this close range, Juushirou could feel the prickling aura of the distinctive _zanpakutou_, even as it slept at its master's side. Suddenly lost for words, he raised his gaze to the other's quizzical one, slowly nodding his head.

"You're Ukitake-kun?" The older student asked again, and Juushirou swallowed hard, bowing his head properly.

"Yes, senpai. I'm Ukitake Juushirou."

"Good." Yunosuke looked satisfied. "Then you're to come with me. Genryuusai-sensei wants to see you in his study - I don't know what about, but he told me to look out for you when you arrived."

He eyed the boy keenly.

"You've barely got here and already people are talking about you." He said frankly. "The boy from outside the Clans who crashed into the top rankings of the new intake class as though it was no effort at all. No doubt Genryuusai-sensei wants to speak to you about that, too - I hope you know what you've gotten into, kid."

He rested his hand briefly on Juushirou's shoulder, and the boy was aware of the faint, quietly controlled swirl of his companion's reiatsu, bubbling just beneath the surface. Slowly he nodded his head.

"I want to learn how to use what I have." He said simply. "So I'm not worried about anything. I'm just glad to be here. That's all."

"That's a good attitude, at least." Yunosuke observed. "All right, then. Come with me, okay?"

His gaze darted to Sora.

"_You _should sign in, Sora-chan, before they decide you're skipping out on your induction." He said, a light warning in his tones.

"I will, don't worry, Anideshi." Sora responded properly. "I just...I have to find someone first, that's all. I'm not sure if he's already arrived - he's being a pain to find either way."

"You and Ukitake-kun are the only first year students whose names haven't been crossed off the entrance list." Yunosuke said casually, and Sora's eyes widened. She muttered a curse, stamping her foot in frustration as she grimaced up at the sky.

"Ah, Shunsui, you damn idiot! You snuck in when I wasn't looking - are you trying to get me into trouble?"

With that she stalked off towards the school building, leaving Juushirou alone with his companion, and a faint smile touched the senpai's lips.

"She's the same as ever. A whirlwind and a storm all in one." He observed. "Well? Are you coming, Ukitake-kun? Genryuusai-sensei's not someone who should be kept waiting."

"Y...yes, sir. I'm coming." Juushirou gathered his wits, and Yunosuke grinned, shaking his head.

"Sir is a bit much." He observed. "Senpai is fine, or Anideshi, like Sora called me. Keep sir for your instructors - all right?"

"But...I...you...you're Urahara-ke, aren't you?" Juushirou murmured. "And...you have...a..."

He faltered, pointing to the sheathed sword, and Yunosuke's fingers brushed the hilt of his blade, nodding his head.

"A _zanpakutou_? Yes. That's what five years hard work has got me, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, though it and I still have a long long way to go before we even come close to Gotei standards. But as for the other thing..."

He shrugged.

"Sensei's policy is that within these walls, all students are equal with their classmates. That's what he believes – that class position is based on spiritual ability and drive, not on birthright. It's a controversial perspective and it doesn't always pan out - but I believe in Genryuusai-sensei, so if that's how he feels, it's all right with me."

He cast Juushirou a sidelong glance.

"Besides, a lot of things have been said about you already." He added. "I'm almost looking forward to seeing what a kouhei from outside of the noble Clans can bring to the Academy!"

* * *

So for the time being he had escaped.

Shunsui glanced out of the window of the dormitory, resting his elbows on the sill as a faint smile touched his lips. Outside, on the ground below, he could just make out the distinctive dark tails of hair and red and white clad body of his would-be minder as she hurried this way and that, clearly searching for something without success.

Shunsui knew only too well that it was him she had been seeking, and he cupped his chin in his hands, amusement in his expression as he registered her frustration. Absently he felt a pang of sympathy for the strange student she had randomly collided with and then accosted on the steps, watching as she dragged him forcibly across the grass, waving her hands as she explained something or other to him in animated tones. The boy looked completely bewildered, Shunsui decided - not an uncommon emotion for anyone on their first meeting with the Shiba-ke's only daughter.

But Shunsui was not so easily taken off guard. He had known Sora for three years now, after all - and it had been plenty of time to get her measure. After all, Sora was honest and open as many of her Clan were, her intentions seldom concealed from others' view. She was without ulterior motives, and though she was intelligent, she often spoke her mind, giving away more, perhaps, than she originally meant to do. It meant people were prone to underestimating both her ability and her potential, but Shunsui had never misjudged her. And, fond as he was of teasing her, he knew that she would have to go far to get the better of him. He understood, after all, the way in which her mind worked. And she, even now, understood very little about his.

_You're simply too obvious, Sora-chan. I can read you from a mile away. Besides, I already know that Tokutarou-nii asked you to keep an eye on me. I'm not foolish - I expected it the moment he heard from your Mother that you were going to be attending this place, too. And it's nothing personal, but I really don't feel like having a minder just at the moment. _

He sighed, getting to his feet and stretching his arms over his head as he stifled a yawn.

Himself aside, the dormitory was as yet empty, and he turned to glance around at his surroundings with a pensive expression on his face. Most students were still downstairs either in the Great Hall completing their induction process or in some other part of the building as they met with teachers or explored their new surrounds. He himself had had no desire to mingle with the crowds, and as soon as he had realised Sora was looking for him he had taken refuge above stairs, knowing that no matter what the excuse, the boy's dormitories were somewhere a female student could not go. Direct as Sora could be he had felt sure that, with her Father being so involved with the Academy, it was a rule she would be unlikely to break - at least, not on her first day.

The room was long and somewhat narrow, although far from stifling in its layout. From the stylised ceiling and panelled walls, it had once been a guest bedroom of some sort, Shunsui decided, for it was not unlike some of the upper chambers at his own family's estate. Yet this manor had long since surrendered its Clan pride and become Genryuusai's dreamed of Academy, and as a result six low-slung block beds were laid out in three neat rows, each one identical to the others as they faced off against opposite walls. Shunsui had half expected futons, yet instead these strange sleeping bunks had been constructed with fixed wooden plinths, each pitched about half a foot off the ground, and covered with a thin mattress stuffed with something soft. Shunsui did not know enough about housekeeping to wonder or care what the material was, yet the manner in which the room had been prepared seemed to him to be a further statement of the fact that this was no longer a Noble house but a place of learning, with permanent fixtures that could not be easily reversed.

By each bed was a small, flat shelf which was at the same level as the wooden blocks, and atop each stood an identical fire-lamp, each one of them polished to the same bright silver finish and each one fitted with a utilitarian safety guard to prevent unforeseen accidents in the dorm. Above his head, too, three round disks were pitched at each end and in the middle of the ceiling. Although at the present time they seemed nothing more than simple decorations, Shunsui knew that they were Kidou lamps, originally developed by the Urahara-ke some hundred years earlier. Shunsui did not know the scientific details, but he remembered vaguely that they powered by a specific kind of soul based magic utilised principally by the Gotei Clans. Either way, he mused, they were not uncommon among Noble houses and most would not even blink to see them used in a place like this. Though far more basic, in fact, they were not much different from the kind of lighting system the Kyouraku clan used themselves, and Shunsui knew that even if an emergency hit in the dead of night, the lamps would illuminate the chamber almost as brightly as if it had been day.

The sleeping plinths themselves were also positioned so that each one of them was surrounded by two windows, allowing plenty of light and air into the chamber. Each bed had been clearly labelled with tiny wooden name plates - to avoid conflict over who would be sleeping where, Shunsui assumed - but he had had no urge to read the names of his future companions.  
_  
Cell-mates, maybe, rather than anything else._

The thought brought a wry smile to his lips, and he shook his head.

_No. There's no lock on this cell door. Tokutarou-nii can send me here, but he can't make me become something I'm not cut out to be. He'll see that, as time goes on - that this isn't the future I intend to follow. I may not have any fixed goals about what I want to be - but I know for sure that I don't want to be a Shinigami. So for the time being, there's not much point in doing anything overly energetic. _

He stifled another yawn, gazing across at one of the windows.

_Cold in winter, perhaps. But I'm sure that Yama-jii's thought that one through. From the way he spoke to Oniisama about me, he doesn't seem to leave much room for doubt._

Shunsui sank down on his bed, running his fingers absently over the blankets that had been neatly placed there. These, too, were identical from bed to bed, in a rich shade of blue, just like the _hakama _the male students all wore. His eyes narrowed as he absorbed this fact, glancing round at the chamber once again.

_All the same. Students, beds, chambers. All equal, then. That's the message, isn't it, sensei? We're all the same in your eyes. No matter what level we were born._

He flopped back onto the thin, flat pillow, closing his eyes briefly as he digested this fact.

_Well, it's a nice thought. Though I'm sure you know better even than I do that most of the Clans don't think that way. Even if you try to make them the same, sensei - I don't think you're going to change anything just as easily as that. If it was that simple, after all, it would've been done a long time ago._

He opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling as his gaze traced lazily around the faint outline of the Yamamoto family insignia, still visible despite the fact the rooms had been redecorated in such a way as to minimise any claim to clan origin. Still, he reflected, it was a school put in place by the Yamamoto-ke, and based in the centre of Yamamoto governed territory. As such, the insignia didn't seem out of place - it was Genryuusai-sensei's brainchild, therefore the traces of his involvement were everywhere.

And, Shunsui admitted wryly to himself, Genryuusai-sensei was a hard individual to overlook at the best of times.

They had met face to face only the one time, though from the manner in which Genryuusai-sensei had addressed Tokutarou, Shunsui had soon realised that they had a closer acquaintance. Further discussion had revealed that Genryuusai-sensei had also once been the close colleague, mentor and friend of Shunsui's tragic father, and the old man had even joked during the conversation that sometimes he had felt more like Matsuhara's father than his comrade. Shunsui's quick, cheeky brain had therefore immediately christened the enigmatic visitor 'Yamamoto-jiisama', a nickname which, over the course of the three or four weeks since their meeting had soon become contracted to 'Yama-jii'. Tokutarou had warned him that the more he did it, the more likely he would bring hell-fire down on himself for accidentally using it in the man's presence, but Shunsui felt certain that he would not so easily make that mistake. And, after all, the man's real name was overly, ridiculously long. It was, he reflected, another sign of Noble idiocy – surely, for a man who championed education for all, '_Yama-jii_' was far more appropriate a name than "_Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama_." For all his quiet strength, after all, Genryuusai-sensei did not seem like one who favoured the frills and trimmings gifted him by his Noble birth.

In that at least, he and Shunsui were reading from the same page. That fact alone had convinced the errant youngster that, much as he disliked the idea of becoming the next Kyouraku Gotei representative, it was a far better gamble to take than risking Tokutarou making good on his threat to confine him in a strict, stifling arranged marriage.

Shunsui had met Noble-born young women in his life, after all. And – Sora aside – none of them were individuals whose heavy, well-bred company he could bear for more than a couple of minutes. Yet even though he was fond of Sora, in an abstract, playful way, he could not imagine the horror of being permanently shackled to her. All in all, he reflected ruefully, he knew that he was not ready to enter that side of Noble life just yet. And though he had never mentioned her explicitly to Tokutarou or his Mother, Saku was the girl who was most strongly imprinted on his thoughts.

Even now he felt sure that no matter how much time passed or how many girls he teased or flirted with or even took to his bed, none of them would ever fully replace her in his heart.

At that moment the door of the chamber slid back with a shudder and a creak, and Shunsui pulled himself into a sitting position, crossing his legs as he raised his hand in a lazy greeting to the newcomer.

"Yo." He said casually.

At his careless address, the stranger paused, staring at him with a mixture of surprise and affront, and at his expression, Shunsui's lips twitched into a wry grin.

The new arrival was roughly his own age, yet perhaps an inch or two smaller. He was stockily built, as though he had been training in various physical forms of activity since his early youth. His skin was dark, yet his eyes were a vivid golden, glittering with life and intelligence, yet Shunsui soon saw a stubborn pride reflected in their depths. His deep violet hair was held back from his face by a single white tie adorned with a gold band, which, though deceptively plain was made of solid precious metal and which had probably cost the wearer's family a high tariff to acquire. He was robed in the same _hakama_ as Shunsui, yet somehow the way in which he carried himself made it seem as though he was dressed in Noble Clan attire, not the simple uniform of the Academy, and on the middle finger of his left hand glimmered a Clan ring, across which Shunsui could clearly make out the unmistakeable crest of the Shihouin-ke.

He sighed inwardly.

Less than an hour since he'd arrived, and already he'd been accosted by Noble ego.

_So much, then, for the idea that all students were equal._

As the stranger's eyes bore into him, he offered the newcomer a smile.

"Shihouin-ke, right?" He asked lazily, and the youngster stiffened, nodding his head as though the answer was so obvious it did not need to be said.

"Shihouin Kai." He said briskly, his tones adding, 'And you are?" without him actually wording the question.

Shunsui's smile widened.

"Kyouraku Shunsui." He responded easily. "Pleasure."

"Kyouraku, huh?" At the sound of the Noble name, Kai's rigid body seemed to relax some, and he nodded his head slightly as though acknowledging his companion as his equal. "I see. I'm sorry, I didn't realise it – you aren't wearing your family's insignia, and from your mode of address, it was quite impossible to tell."

"I guess I got up late and left it at home." Shunsui chuckled, shaking his head. "No, I'm joking. This is a school, right? I didn't suppose I'd need it. Niisama never mentioned it when I left, after all."

"Your Oniisama is misled, then." Kai said simply. "Even if this is a 'school', as you term it, a Noble Clansman is under obligation to carry his family's pride with him at all time."

"Well, I suppose I felt it wasn't really my business to argue with the head of the Kyouraku-ke, so I didn't think to ask him." Shunsui leant back against the wall, shrugging his shoulders carelessly. "I suppose we do things a little differently, Kai-kun."

"I don't remember giving you leave to address me that way." Kai stiffened once more, and Kyouraku grinned at him.

"No, you didn't." He agreed. "But I've never been much good at appropriate forms of address. I suppose it comes from my brother having such close ties with the Shiba-ke – they frown on honorifics and so on, and I suppose I've become influenced by their ways."

Kai's eyes narrowed, but he made no further demur, glancing around the chamber as he did so.

"These are our sleeping quarters, then, for the time being?"

"So it seems." Shunsui nodded. "All the bunks are labelled…but I couldn't tell you which was yours, I'm afraid. They're unusual sleeping arrangements, don't you think? With this kind of bed – very different from anything we have at home, for sure."

"Indeed so." Kai agreed, his gaze flitting between the rows. "Still, this is a Nobleman's manor and we are Noble children. I imagine that we won't find it too inappropriate."

"It seems comfortable enough to me." Shunsui reflected. A mischievous twinkle glittered in his dark eyes, then,

"Of course, mixed dorms would have been a touch more interesting, but I suppose there'd be a few parents who'd complain about that."

Kai swung around, staring at him in disbelief, and Shunsui chuckled at the other boy's expression.

"You are joking, I hope." At length Kai found his voice, and Shunsui shrugged.

"I guess it depends on the girls." He mused, rubbing his chin absently as he did so. "In the end, it might be better having it this way, so there's at least some recourse to escape."

Before Kai could respond, the door slid back once more to reveal another youngster, and at the sight of him, Kai seemed to forget his Noble demeanour, letting out an exclamation of dismay. For his part, the newcomer stopped dead, an equal amount of horror in his slate-grey eyes, and Shunsui shuffled back more comfortably on his bed, glancing with interest from one to the other as he interpreted the tension between them.

The newest arrival's dark hair and pale complexion gave him away as a member of the Kuchiki-ke, often considered by most in Seireitei to be the strongest and most high ranking clan in terms of both influence and spiritual potential, and even from his first impression Shunsui realised that this boy was no different. There was a cool austerity to his bearing, yet somehow it was less affected than Kai's conscious attempt to flaunt his family pride, and Shunsui quickly surmised that this was a youngster who had no insecurity about his status. He was Kuchiki, therefore he was superior, and that was where the argument ended. And, as he became aware of the angry prickling at both boys' reiatsu, he grudgingly admitted to himself that the newcomer probably had every reason to hold his head up high.

Though it was as neatly concealed and controlled as his level, calm appearance, Shunsui realised that within that boy's heart burned reiatsu that superceded his Brother's and probably put him on a par with his late Father, too.

_And yet he's not the strongest member of the Clan. If he was, he wouldn't be here. _

His eyes narrowed as he absorbed this fact.

_I suppose it's true then, what they say. About the Kuchiki-ke's reiryoku._

"What are _you_ doing here?" At length, Kai found his voice, and at the sound of his question, the grey-eyed student arched an eyebrow, gazing at the other boy as though debating whether or not it was worth an answer. The silence continued for a moment, then, at length, he spoke.

"I would have thought that it was clear enough, considering that I am robed as you are, and in the dormitory, as you see." He said softly, in low, well-cultured tones that somehow conveyed his high birth without pushing it garishly into the public eye. "Though I suppose that such things are hard to reason out for a Shihouin – considering your Clan do nothing but give and take orders, I'm surprised you've managed to arrive here at all."

Kai bristled visibly at this, and Shunsui hid a smile at the boy's discomfort. He knew vaguely of the ongoing tension between the Kuchiki and Shihouin clans, for the Shihouin had often tried to prove themselves the Kuchiki-ke's equals, and there was something pathetically amusing about the fact that it had sunk even to the level of teenagers facing off across an empty school dormitory.

"You two know each other, I presume?" He interjected now, and as one they turned to look at him, Kai's burning retort stifled on his lips at the unexpected interruption.

"We are somewhat acquainted, yes." The dark haired, grey eyed Kuchiki boy agreed, inclining his head slightly in confirmation. "But I don't believe you and I have met before."

"No, we certainly haven't." Shunsui agreed cheerfully, slipping his hands behind his head as he met the other's gaze head on. "But I can tell you're a Kuchiki, so we're half-way there, aren't we? My name's Kyouraku Shunsui. Pleased to meet you."

"Kuchiki Ryuu. Likewise." Though Shunsui's greeting had been blatantly and provocatively casual, Ryuu merely bowed his head in acknowledgement. "I had not heard that there was a Kyouraku of like age to myself, however."

"Well, I've travelled a bit between estates, you could say." Shunsui said vaguely. "But since my brother inherited the Clan leadership, I've been based at the main Kyouraku manor."

"Ah. That would be Tokutarou-dono, would it not?" Ryuu's gaze cleared. "My Uncle has spoken well of him on many occasions since he became head of your Clan."

He smiled, and Shunsui had the distinct impression he had somehow passed some unseen test. "If you are his brother, then it seems quite clear why we should meet in a place such as this one."

He cast the still bristling Kai a disparaging look.

"_That_ one is less clear." He said dismissively. "But I suppose even the Shihouin Clan have their pride – such as it is."

"You shut your face, and pipe down about Clan pride." Kai snapped back. "I don't care if you Kuchiki like to lord it over everyone else! You know as well as I do that the last time we met, I beat you fair and square in a clash of sticks. You're not better than me and nor is your family. You're just another offshoot of a Clan with too much influence. That's all. You're weak, at the end of the day. Weak figureheads, while we do all the work."

"What kind of work is it, I wonder, that leads to the training of thieves, assassins and those who move in shadow?" Ryuu turned to face him quizzically, and even Shunsui felt the distinct chill in the boy's expression as he met Kai's angry gaze with a distinct challenge. "I'm afraid I rather disdain a so-called family pride that's built on the crushed corpses of others."

Shunsui's gaze flitted from one boy to the other, then he let out a sigh.

"And I can see my coming here is becoming more and more fun by the minute." He murmured ironically. "Give it a rest, will you, the pair of you? It isn't really important to me whose family is better or who's got the biggest house. And if I've got to live with you fighting like this for the whole of our acquaintance, I'm really going to get the outsize in headaches."

"Someone from the Kyouraku-ke would not understand the complexities that exist between the Shihouin and the Kuchiki." Kai told him frankly, and Ryuu snorted.

"That would be because the Kyouraku do not try to grasp and clamber their way up the social ladder in the way the Shihouin do." He said simply, and Shunsui groaned, getting to his feet.

"Fine. You two stay here and battle it out between you." He said resignedly. "I'll leave you to it – try not to kill each other, will you? It'd be a heck of a mess to have to clean up on first day."

With that he grabbed his cloak, flinging it casually over his shoulders as he pushed back the sliding door and stepped out into the hallway beyond. It was deserted, however, so slowly he made his way down the winding stairs towards the main hall were most of the students were still milling around.

"Shunsui! There you are!"

Sora's shrill cry made him wonder if he'd misjudged his timing, and for a moment he debated diving back towards the stairwell and the safety of the boy's wing, but in that moment the whirlwind descended upon him, firm fingers grabbing him determinedly by the arm and pulling him to one side.

"You snuck past me somehow." She said accusingly, glaring at him with indignant green eyes. "You did it on purpose, didn't you? You knew I'd be looking, so you deliberately hid so I couldn't find you."

"Why would I hide from you, Sora-chan?" Shunsui affected an innocent expression, and Sora let out a groan.

"You're a pain in the butt, Shunsui-kun." She said, irritation clear in her tones. "You just like making people worry about you."

"You were worried about me?" Shunsui raised an eyebrow. "Careful, Sora-chan. That could be misinterpreted in so many ways, you know."

"Only by an idiot flirt like you." Sora countered swiftly, grabbing him by the shoulders and giving him a little shake. "But Okaasama promised Tokutarou-nii I'd keep you out of trouble. And I don't want to make either of them angry with me, so don't make me angry with you, all right?"

"Of course, you'd hate to do _anything_ to upset Tokutarou-nii." Shunsui murmured, and Sora's cheeks pinkened at the veiled implication in his tones. She glared at him indignantly.

"It's not like that!" She protested, in a way that told Shunsui it was exactly like that and that he had hit a nerve. "Oh, just shut up and behave yourself for a while, all right? At least for a few days? We've just got here, after all. At least_ try_ and make a good impression on people? I'm sure even you can keep your personality twitches out of sight for a little while, right?"

"You make me sound like a wild animal or a mental case, talking like that." Shunsui reflected, and Sora nodded.

"Either is fine. You choose which you prefer." She said bluntly, and Shunsui laughed.

"You know, I thought the dorm would be quieter, but it turns out two of my new roommates are blooding Clan pride up there, so I decided to brave the crowds instead." He reflected. "In comparison to them, it's actually quite nice to see you, Sora-chan."

"I'm amazed you get _any _girls to go near you, if you use lines like that on all of them." Was Sora's crushing rejoinder, and Shunsui grinned.

"No, I save those for you." He said innocently. "After all, you're practically my brother's sister. Aren't you? And so we're family, Sora-chan. Siblings, almost."

Sora reddened again, giving him a rough shove.

"Tokutarou-nii isn't my brother, and _you're _not even my blood kin." She said sharply. "So stop it, Shunsui. I mean it. It's been a long enough day and I was late signing in because of you."

"I don't remember doing anything to cause that."

"Exactly. You _didn't_ do anything. You disappeared." Sora snapped. Then she sighed.

"Still, at least you're here now, so that's something." She added. "Dinner's about to be served in the Dining Hall, and since you're with me, we'll go together. For one night at least I can stomach your company at table – from tomorrow we'll probably have set seating, but I don't suppose anyone will pay attention to it today."

"You know, it's such a shame that your manners are so shocking." Shunsui reflected lightly. "Since you're quite pretty before you open your mouth. You might even find someone willing to take you on, if you didn't have this bad habit of speaking from time to time."

"Shunsui, I'm warning you…"

Shunsui chuckled, enjoying the look of discomfited anger on his companion's face.

"Aw, come on, Sora-chan. It's been too long since I've had such a good chance to wind you up." He said unrepentantly. "You can take it as a term of my affection towards you, if you like."

"I give up." Sora groaned, grabbing him more tightly by the arm and pulling him in the direction that most students were heading, towards the impressive chamber that had once been the dining hall of Princes and Lords. Now it was set out with long, low-pitched wooden tables, mats placed at neat intervals for the students to kneel, and though the ornate patterning on the ceiling was much like that in the dorms above, Shunsui again felt that the building had left its old life behind in order to start anew.

_Is that the same for us then? Have we done the same, by stepping through these doors – or is it just a case that nothing ever changes, and this will simply be another chance for kids like Kai and Ryuu to give off their war cries and defend their Clans?_

"Are you with me or spacing out to some other place?" Sora's sharp elbow jabbed him in the ribs at that moment, bringing him back to reality with a bump, and he cast her a rueful glance. "You're holding up the queue. Honestly, you can't do anything by yourself, can you? How Tokutarou ended up with such a hopeless brother, the Gods only know. And why I ended up having to nanny you…"

She sighed, shaking her head.

"Just grab your food and we'll find somewhere to sit." She said heavily. "You can do that without my help, right?"

"Contrary to popular belief, Sora, I am capable of feeding myself." Shunsui said lightly. "And have been using chopsticks on my own since I was two years old."

"Which, coincidentally, is your current mental age." Sora told him evenly, and Shunsui cast her an amused look, collecting his food and waiting patiently for her to do the same.

It was a simple evening meal of fish and rice, served in unremarkable bowls and plain wooden trays were piled up to the students' left in order for them to carry their meals to their table. Hot tea was available in steaming blue ceramic mugs, and he waited for his to be poured, Shunsui sent Sora a playful sidelong glance.

"Sake would've been nice, after a long day travelling." He said innocently, and Sora pulled a face.

"You've had more than your lifetime's share of sake." She said acerbically. "And my journey was longer than yours. Your family's land is just across the border – you practically fell out of bed and arrived here."

"And I thought girls were supposed to be gentle and sympathetic." Came Shunsui's neat response. "What happened in your case, Sora-chan?"

"I wound up saddled with you." Sora replied simply. "Stop it and come on. There's space in the far corner…and that's one of our classmates sitting at that table. Anideshi dragged him off to see Genryuusai-sensei earlier, but he was helping me look for you – I wonder what his meeting was about."

She grinned.

"Even you might be interested." She added. "He's not like us, Shunsui-kun. He's from outside the Noble clans."

"From outside…?" Despite himself, Shunsui's eyes widened, and he cast the indicated student a glance, taking in his appearance properly. He frowned.

"Somehow, I believe it." He murmured. "He doesn't look…like he's from a Clan."

"He looks half-starved and like he might snap in two, but I don't think his brain's like that." Sora reflected. "Even Urahara-senpai knew who he was, because he'd come joint second in the guidance tests."

"Joint second, huh?" Shunsui sent her a mischievous look. "You mean you let yourself get beaten by someone from the lower levels of Seireitei's society? You're slipping, Sora-chan. You need to work harder on your studies."

"At least I study sometimes." Sora said indignantly. "You're just the same as me, so don't pretend otherwise. I don't know how you got into the top class, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with your brains!"

"Turns out Genryuusai-sama was an old friend of my Father's." Shunsui said lightly.

"Must've been a very good friendship, then, if Genryuusai-sensei let you in here based on it." Sora said astutely. "Stop holding up the queue again, will you? Stop babbling and go sit. Otherwise there'll be no spaces left."

"Yes ma'am." Shunsui winked at her, but obediently led the way across the chamber to where Juushirou had settled himself down beside a window, a thoughtful look on his thin features as he slowly ate his way through his meal. He did not notice as they approached, and as Shunsui eyed him keenly, he realised Sora's assessment was right. He was thin and fragile looking, yet from the measured way in which he ate, it did not seem that he was either lacking in appetite or had been deprived in any way. He was attractive in a strange, delicate way, with a curious swirl of lank white hair that fell to the nape of his neck. His eyebrows, however, were as jet black as Sora's own, and the effect was quite striking, making Shunsui wonder what kind of family exactly the Ukitake clan were.

"Juushirou-kun, I found him."

Sora dropped herself down in an empty place, casting the other student a grin, and at the sound of her voice, the boy glanced up, surprise and then sheepishness crossing his expression as he set his chopsticks aside.

"I'm sorry, I was in a world of my own." He said ruefully. "Found him? Oh! Then this is…?"

He paused, meeting Shunsui's gaze for the first time, and his lips twitched into a wider smile.

"You must be Kyouraku-kun, then." He said softly, and Shunsui's keen ears picked up on his low, even tones, finding it somehow refreshing to hear someone speak without the well-bred slur of Nobility afflicting their words. His words were clean and clear, and even if they were not cultured, they lacked any hint of the stereotypical colloquial accent Shunsui had often heard his Uncle's noble peers mocking as a young boy. Shunsui found himself somewhat amused by this - he had long since known from his friendship with Saku that few members of the lower levels of Seireitei's society spoke with the rough dialect and limited vocabulary that many of the Clan nobles naively believed they did.

Pride and connections, after all, were the true divides between the levels of society. Shunsui knew from his own experience that intelligence was rarely a factor in deciding who was best suited to lead and who to follow.

"Yes. That's right." He agreed now, half-wondering what the proud Kai and austere Ryuu would make of this enigma. "Kyouraku Shunsui."

"I'm Ukitake Juushirou." The stranger said warmly. "I'm pleased to meet you. From what Sora told me, I understand you're also to be in the top class for the first year."

"So I understand." Despite himself, some of Shunsui's normal swagger was set off balance by the sincerity in the other boy's hazel green eyes, and the smile he offered in return was equally as genuine. "Though I hope Sora's not been saying too much. It's a bad habit of hers, after all – opening her mouth and forgetting to shut it again."

"Shunsui." Sora glowered at him, then offered Juushirou a smile.

"Did you have a good meeting with Genryuusai-sensei?" She asked curiously, and Juushirou pursed his lips, slowly nodding his head.

"It wasn't really a meeting so much as a welcome and some basic information." He said carefully. "For those of us who aren't familiar with the Noble system or the building or any of those things."

"Are there many, then, who aren't from Clans?" Sora looked surprised, and Juushirou shook his head.

"Four, including me." He replied. "But…it seems I'm the only one in the top class."

He smiled faintly.

"It's slightly intimidating, being told by a senpai that you're a topic of conversation before you've even arrived." He murmured. "I didn't realise how much it would matter, my coming joint second on the entrance exam."

"You must be pretty smart, I guess." Shunsui said evenly. "That's what it proves, in the end."

He smiled.

"Trying to understand how the Clans work is like trying to read a book with your eyes closed." He added. "You're better off not worrying about it too much, in the end. None of them make any sense, so you'll only give yourself a headache."

"I'd like to learn, though, at least some." Juushirou shook his head. "My old tutor taught me about the structure of Soul Society and the Gotei but if I want to really understand how those things work, I'll have to know something about the Noble Clans, too. Won't I?"

He cast a glance from Sora to Shunsui, then,

"You're both from Clans, after all." He added. "I'm sure it'll be fine. So long as I keep working hard, noone will worry."

Shunsui let out a low whistle, his mind flitting back to the strutting peacocks he had left pacing around the boy's dorm.

"Well, I guess there's no point in breaking your illusions first day." He said at length. "You'll see soon enough, Juu-kun, exactly how things work."

Juushirou frowned, his gaze suddenly clouding, and Shunsui realised that he'd somehow stepped on a landmine.

There was a moment of silence, then,

"I'd rather you didn't call me that, if you don't mind." He said softly.

"Call you…?" Shunsui was floored, and Sora grimaced, nudging him with her elbow.

"You've just met him and already you're calling him like you've been best friends since birth." She scolded him. "Just because my family don't like fancy talk, it doesn't mean you can be pally-pally with everyone you meet like you can with us."

"No…no, it isn't that." Juushirou's eyes widened in dismay and he held up his hands, shaking his head hurriedly. "I didn't mean…it's not that I'm offended by it or anything like that! I just…"

He faltered, biting his lip, and Shunsui saw the faint shadow surface in the boy's hazel eyes once more.

"I just don't like being called Juu-kun." He said softly. "That's all. It's just…something I don't like."

Despite himself, Shunsui felt guilty.

"I guess I'm sorry, then." He said frankly. "Maybe for once Sora's right – I do jump in and assume. But you didn't seem to be a monster, so I thought…"

"It's not like that – please don't worry about it." Juushirou assured him. "Its just a personal thing of mine. That's all."

He smiled.

"I don't mind being called Juushirou." He added. "Most people I've known up till now have called me that, and I don't mind if you do too. I'm not standing on ceremony or anything. I'd just rather you used my proper name, and didn't shorten it. If you don't mind."

"It's a mouthful, but if that's how you feel, I guess I can't say anything about it." Shunsui shrugged his shoulders, for some reason relieved to see the shadow lift from the other boy's clever gaze. "Juushirou it is, then. And I'm Shunsui – like Sora, I don't stand on ceremony with anyone."

"If you're sure that's okay…"

"More than." Shunsui nodded. "Kyouraku is my Clan name, and believe me, the less I'm reminded of that fact the better."

He shrugged, stifling a yawn.

"Clan ties are more hassle than they're worth." He added. "And I like a quiet life."

"I'm just a little relieved to have met some of my classmates." Juushirou reflected ruefully. "Clan or otherwise, it doesn't really matter too much to me. But so far Sora was the only one I'd met from Class One - and though I'm grateful for it, I was a little apprehensive about finding my dormitory and not knowing anything or anyone there."

"There are six girls and twelve boys, so that doesn't mean anything." Sora objected. "All the girls are together, but..."

"I would have preferred it if they'd mixed and matched." Shunsui rubbed his chin absently. "It would've been nice, sharing with the girls. We could've been roommates, Sora-chan - would you have liked that?"

"You're going to frighten Juushirou if you carry on like that." Sora scolded. "And as for me, I'll be glad to get a break from your company. My point was simply that, if there are twelve boys, you won't all be in together."

"Genryuusai-sensei said that all the boys from Class One were together, and likewise Class Two." Juushirou eyed Shunsui for a moment, then shook his head, taking a sip of his tea. "The others all went off together to settle in, but I didn't really know what to do. Genryuusai-sensei asked if I wanted any help, but I don't want to be a bother for him or anyone else. So I said I'd be all right."

He smiled.

"But you're Class One with me, Shunsui-kun." He added. "So at least now I know someone else. And it might sound foolish, but I'm glad."

"It is foolish, if you're glad to have Shunsui as company." Sora smirked. "But I suppose I can see your reasoning."

She cast Shunsui a glance.

"Did you say that you'd met some of our other classmates?"

"Mm. A Kuchiki and a Shihouin." Shunsui grimaced. "Guess what kind of encounter that was."

"No wonder you decided to leave them to it." Sora pulled an equally graphic face, and Juushirou looked non-plussed.

"I'm sorry - is there something wrong with the Kuchiki and the Shihouin clans?" He asked, bewildered. "The Kuchiki are the family who rule my district of Seireitei, so I've always thought them to be good, but..."

"It's not a matter of good or bad." Sora shook her head. "Like I said, the Clans are all different. The Shihouin and the Kuchiki have been rivals for a long time. Noone knows how it really began - not even them, I don't suppose. But it's always been that way. The Kuchiki are often looked on as the First of the Great Clans, because historically they've always produced the most powerful representatives among the Gotei. Even though in the last few generations the Yamamoto-ke have played an increasingly key part thanks to Genryuusai-sensei and his influence, they've still retained that status. And the Shihouin dislike it. So I suppose that's why it carries on."

"Basically, if you shut a dog and a cat in a tiny room together, fur flies." Shunsui added succinctly. "And fur was flying from the first glance. So I hope you're a heavy sleeper, Juushirou. Because if not, you might never sleep at all."

Juushirou offered him a wry smile.

"I've been known to sleep for three or four days together before." He said softly. "I don't suppose a little arguing will trouble me, either. I have seven younger brothers and sisters, and so I'm used to there being noise at all hours of day and night."

"Seven?" Sora stared at him. "So many?"

"Mm." Juushirou grinned. "It's nice, being a part of a big family."

"I thought having two brothers and Tokutarou-nii was big enough." Sora reflected, her eyes round. "And Shunsui only has one brother."

"That depends on how you count Sora-chan." Shunsui said lazily. "One _legitimate_ brother. I have no idea how many others may or may not exist - but from the way the household staff used to whisper, I imagine there are a few lurking in corners here and there across Eighth District."

Juushirou, who had been sipping his tea, choked at this, setting the cup down hurriedly as he fought to regain his breath, and Sora rolled her eyes.

"Don't pay any attention to him." She instructed, sending Shunsui a black look. "Are you all right, Juushirou? He likes saying things like that to cause a sensation - you learn to ignore it after a while."

Juushirou did not answer, closing his eyes briefly as he forcibly brought his breathing back under his control. At length, he opened them again, nodding his head, but a brief flicker of pain had crossed his brow, and despite himself, Shunsui felt a second pang of guilt.

"I wasn't trying to choke you." He said softly. "Are you really okay?"

"Yes. I am now." Juushirou agreed, his voice soft and somewhat hoarse. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to choke - just it surprised me, the way you said it so casually."

"Some families gossip about things behind closed doors. I prefer the open approach." Shunsui responded. "It's no secret that my Father had mistresses and that he probably had children by them, too."

He smiled.

"But I suppose I should remember that you're not used to Clan intrigues." He admitted. "I'm shattering your illusions of our grandeur a little, aren't I? Maybe I should be the one who's sorry."

"No...it's not an illusion." Juushirou shook his head. "I believe that the Clans protect Seireitei and even if they have flaws, they do what they're there to do. I have never had any complaints, growing up in Sixth District, about the way in which the Kuchiki govern our area. Our family have benefited in the past from their policy of allowing families to obtain extra land, and even employ people on our own, where needed."

He smiled.

"But I know people aren't perfect." He added. "My sensei growing up was the illegitimate son of one or other Noble, and though he never told me who or which, he never made a secret of it. My Father provided him with a livelihood when he had nothing else to fall back on. I'm not as naive as you might think I am...growing up outside the Clans doesn't mean your view of the world is perfect."

His lips thinned slightly, and Shunsui wondered at the sudden clouding of his hazel eyes once more.

"No matter how great their intentions, they can't manage Seireitei's safety alone." He murmured. "It's why I came here, when Genryuusai-sensei asked me to. Because my family is large and close-knit, and I'm the eldest. I want to be able to protect them from danger."

Shunsui's eyes narrowed, as he heard the resolution in the boy's still hoarse tones.

"I hope you know what you've dropped yourself into." He said quietly, as a flicker of his Father's hopeless face flashed across his mind. "There are prices to getting strong, after all. Hassles. Drawbacks. You might not like what you find at the end of it."

"Shunsui?" Sora cast him a startled glance, and he twitched his lips into a smile, eying her fondly.

"Of course, so long as there are pretty girls to distract me, I'll see it through." He said matter-of-factly. "But it's just something to keep in mind."

He shrugged, getting to his feet.

"I'm going to go see if the battle's over in the dorm." He added. "I'll see you there later, Juushirou, no doubt."

He winked at the bewildered boy, spreading his hands.

"I hope you put the cat thoroughly among the pigeons, however." He reflected. "Since you're obviously going to be a working type, I think it might be interesting to watch how things go from hereon in."

* * *

_**Author's Note: Clans in Vraie's rendition of Ancient Soul Society  
**_  
_As mentioned before, this story deals with Seireitei politics and intrigue and Clans and whatever and though MOST of the chapters and sections will be from Juu or Shun's perspective, one or two will be from Yama's (like the prologue) and a couple by OCs. There are OCs in this story. Most significantly the boys' seven classmates, some of whom have a greater role to play than others. Where possible, these are based on the characters depicted in the flashbacks when Yama-jii is speaking about the boys and their schooldays. Hair colours etc are based on the anime versions. (Sora is NOT one of those shown - Shunsui's flirting has no effect on her :P)_

_Some - like Sora, Ryuu, Kai - come from noble families we know about (Shiba, Kuchiki, Shihouin). I have only invented ONE noble clan for this story - the Endou-ke. Given the positions of the characters and their connections in modern-day Bleach, I've also made the Yamamoto, Unohana and Urahara families noble blood (plus the Kyouraku whose status has yet to be firmly clarified). Thus, Eight Noble Families. In that light, the new characters are not entirely unfamiliar ones. The roles of those families and of the children from them will also, I think, be quite familiar - for example the Unohana are a clan of Healers, the Urahara are scientists, etc. Most of the OCs in my story connect to Shinigami known to us in the modern interpretation, and so certain features and ideas will crop up that people will (I hope!) be able to identify!_

_In this kind story, having OCs is unavoidable. However, in return for readers not throwing cream pies at me for including them, I'll do my utmost best to make them flawed, rounded and believable characters. They exist to further the plot and help Juu and Shun to grow. (And because if there are OCs, I can potentially kill them. Yes, yes :D)_


	3. Blank Slate

**Chapter Two: A Blank Slate**

The sun was shining.

Juushirou's gaze drifted across the schoolroom, taking in the shadows of two birds as they arced and flew around one another, courting in the blue spring sky. Beyond, he knew, there was thick, dense forest that surrounded the school buildings on all sides, and at the thought of it, a pang of nostalgia flickered in his young heart.

He was a long way, here, from the sea.

He sighed, turning his gaze back on the tall, black-and-white clad instructor that stood at the front of the class, long strip of beech wood in his right hand which, at occasional intervals he waved or slapped against his thigh to emphasise a point. It was a thin yet substantial implement, Juushirou decided, and yet the teacher did not flinch when it make contact with his leg, giving the student good reason to believe that either the man's thighs were made of some kind of stone, or his skin was so thick he no longer felt pain.

A faint smile touched Juushirou's lips at this thought.

Perhaps, then, Kazoe-sensei was a tree.

He had been at the Academy for six days now. In even that short space of time he had come to learn many things about his new environment and classmates, and he had quickly realised that it would not be as easy to settle among them as he had originally hoped. Both Kamikura's words and Sora and Shunsui's warnings echoed in his thoughts, and he frowned, letting out a faint sigh.

So it would take more than hard work, then, to be accepted as one of them.

His eyes narrowed.

But then, he had known from the start that he would have to work hard. He had promised Genryuusai-sensei that he would not go at anything half-heartedly. And he had meant it.

He flitted his gaze briefly around the class, taking in those of the other students within his line of sight. At the furthest end of the front row, Kuchiki Ryuu was on his feet, still in the midst of giving his complicated and long-winded explanation of the Arts of the Shinigami, and try as he might, Juushirou had found it difficult to follow his classmate's elevated and tedious use of logic. It was not that he didn't understand the theory, more that Ryuu had chosen the most complex way of putting it - yet even though from the first night the Kuchiki boy had barely even looked at him, Juushirou had already realised that Ryuu's knowledge and intelligence was a cut above the other students. Despite the fact he knew he had been ignored entirely on the basis of his low-born roots, Juushirou felt more admiring envy for his classmate's skill than he did any direct sense of resentment. Ryuu treated others with disdain, true enough - but at least he had good reason to do so and inwardly Juushirou had resolved himself to working his hardest in order to pull as close to the other boy's level as possible.

Alongside Ryuu's seat was an empty desk, and Juushirou's gaze rested on it for a moment, a wry smile touching his lips. This class was Kidou theory, and aside from the very first one, Shunsui had not bothered to attend, claiming that it was too early in the morning to be forced to get out of bed. After trying without success to raise him on the second and third day, Juushirou had given up. It was not his business, after all, if one of his classmates chose not to come to class. He was not at home now, intervening with his younger siblings and settling their squabbles. He was not responsible for any of his dorm-mates or what they did.

It had taken him a few days to realise this - that now he was on his own, he could think first and foremost for his own benefit instead of having to tailor his needs and actions around the noisy brood of Ukitake children that had so often clamoured for his attention. He missed them badly, he knew that. But there was also, for the first time, a certain sense of freedom. He wasn't a child any more, now. He was a man - a man taking his first steps into the world on his own.

And somewhere, he knew, his Father was watching him with pride and hope.

"Ukitake."

The sound of his name brought his gaze back to the front of the room, and he reddened slightly, aware that all eyes were on him as he scrambled to his feet. From the row behind, he was sure he could hear the faint snort of derision that, even after five days of classes he knew came from the direction of Shihouin Kai's seat, and he frowned, gathering his wits as he gazed at the teacher expectantly.

"Yes, Kazoe-sensei?"

"So you are with us this morning." The teacher - a distant descendant of the Unohana clan - pursed his lips, peering at him over the flat rims of his spectacles. "I'm glad to see it."

Despite himself, Ukitake bit his lip, lowering his head slightly in an apology.

"I'm sorry, sensei. I found the last explanation complicated and I couldn't make sense of it." He said slowly.

"In which case, surely, it would be better to raise your hand and say so, instead of letting the world coast by." Kazoe said inexorably. "Very well. Since you're having trouble with this section, I'll assign you some extra reading on the subject to go over after class - since I'm not going to waste everyone else's time by re-covering matters we've already done. In the meantime, turn your eyes to the board, if you please. I'd like you to read out to the group what I've written there."

Juushirou's eyes flitted to the board, skimming down the columns of kanji, but before he could speak, a voice came from the row behind.

"Sensei, I think you're being unfair." That was Kai's voice, and Juushirou narrowed his eyes, aware of the false niceness in the boy's haughty tones. "Ukitake's not like the rest of us. There's no way of knowing if he can even read such complicated kanji."

"I think that's a matter for Ukitake to resolve, not you, Shihouin." Again, Kazoe was unmoved, and Ukitake got a grip on the anger bubbling inside of him, all too aware of what would happen if he let his temper swirl out of control. He had so far managed to keep his medical condition more or less under wraps, and though he was not deliberately trying to keep it a secret, he had quickly learnt that showing weakness to boys like Kai and Ryuu would mark the death knell of his time at the Academy. He had no ideas of giving them the satisfaction of seeing him collapse in class just because of Kai's provocation, so instead he ignored his classmate's pointed words, meeting the teacher's gaze with an even one of his own.

"I'm quite able to read it, sensei, though I'm grateful to Shihouin-kun for his concern." He said lightly, offering Kazoe a smile.

"Then do so." Kazoe eyed him thoughtfully, but gestured towards the black slate, and Juushirou nodded.

"One of the four pillars of Shinigami skill, Kidou's principle focus is on the use of spiritual magic." He said softly. "There are several different types of utilising this skill - some offensive, some defensive, with the most complicated procedures being applied in tandem with one another by skilled users. The spells can be cast in two ways - either by using the full incantation or by the technique name alone. Though quicker to release, a spell without the incantation is generally considered to lack strength, therefore is usually reserved for use only by the more experienced users. Some _zanpakutou _are also believed to carry a Kidou element."

"Thank you." Kazoe nodded. "Did you manage to follow _that _clearly, Ukitake?"

"Yes, sir. I did."

"Then perhaps you can also tell the class what the word 'Kidou' actually means?"

Kazoe ran his wooden baton alongside the two kanji, and Ukitake frowned.

"Demon's path, sir."

"Precisely." Kazoe indicated for him to sit down. "It's as well you all take this in and absorb it now. We are not simply learning about a skill, but forming a deep rooted understanding of it, after all. And that begins with understanding the terms used."

He tapped the board again.

"As Ukitake has correctly told us, the word is spelt with the characters '_oni'_ - demon - and '_michi_' - path."

He turned back to the class, pacing across the front and sweeping his gaze across the group to make sure they were all listening intently.

"It's also known as the way of the demon, or, in some more contemporary writings, Demon's Method." He added. "And I want you to remember that fact. The arts that you will be beginning to learn are not toys or tricks used to amuse friends or entertain at parties. They are deep-rooted skills which are quite capable of rebounding on a user if they are not properly applied. Inattention to either the words of the spell or the aim of the magic is unforgivable, and misuse can - and has been known to - end in death."

"Is it really demon's magic, though, sensei?" A girl in the front row raised her hand. "Because surely if there are demons, those things are the Hollows we're meant to be fighting? If it's demon magic, why are we using it?"

Kazoe eyed her keenly.

"That's a good question." He agreed. "And the answer comes from a time before I or any of you were around to play witness. The origins of the magic are wrapped in mystery - whether they originally were 'demon arts' or whether they were considered that way and so named by superstitious people at the time, it's unclear. All I can tell you is that new techniques are being developed and worked on all the time, and the capabilities of the Shinigami to use Kidou in a battle situation are becoming even more broad."

"_Do_ Hollows use Kidou, though, sensei?" Another student - a large, sturdy boy who was a relative of the Yamamoto-ke raised his hand, and Kazoe shook his head.

"Hollows are not demons in the technical sense, Houjou." He responded. "And no, they are not currently capable of using Kidou, although some higher level ones do possess high powered spiritual attacks such as 'Cero' which you will no doubt cover at a later date."

"Not _currently_ capable, sensei?" Sora demanded. "Does that mean they might start learning it?"

"How could they?" Kai snorted. "They're Hollows. They're not like us. They don't think or feel, they just follow our reiatsu looking to feed. That's all. They don't have the intellectual capacity to learn."

"Certainly most of the Hollows that appear in Seireitei are of that ilk, Shihouin." Kazoe agreed. "But Shiba has a point too. We don't know what Hollows might be capable of in the future. It's true that the current level of Hollow is far stronger and more difficult to defeat than, say, the Hollows that were around in your Grandparents' time. As a result, Shinigami are constantly developing and updating their skills in order to keep pace. You are all aware, I think, of the recent introduction of the Squad system among the Gotei, and the inauguration of four new Gotei leaders in order to help combat the growing problem."

There was a murmur of assent among the students, many of them nodding in agreement, and Juushirou felt slightly ashamed that he did not fully know what to his classmates was obviously a well-circulated piece of information. Still, he did not raise his hand to ask, Kai's cool taunts still rankling at his pride, and instead he resolved to ask someone later what Kazoe had meant.

_Sora did say something about her brother and a new Squad, though…and I think I remember Genryuusai-sensei mentioning it, too. I didn't really understand it then - but maybe it's something to do with that._

"Kidou is probably the art which has most benefited from this renewed focus." Kazoe continued now. "The current emphasis is on strengthening the variety and potency of the Gotei's arsenal - so I expect you to all pay close attention to everything you are about to learn. Both now, in discussing Kidou theory, and later, when we come to practicing actual spells."

"Someone should tell _Kyouraku_ that." The girl who had asked the original question put in frankly, her gaze flitting to the empty chair, and Kazoe pursed his lips. Though he did not comment, Juushirou was aware of the displeasure in his dark eyes, and he half found himself feeling sorry for the skiving Shunsui. Even in five days of classes, Juushirou had realised that Kazoe Ginji was a fair teacher, but an uncompromisingly tough one who disliked lateness and inattention from his students. Although so far he had only used the wooden baton to indicate things on the board, Juushirou felt privately that, if the circumstances demanded it, it could just as well be used as a crop to mete out discipline to any who upset him.

Before the atmosphere could become any more chilly, however, the chime of the estate's big tower bell resounded through the old stone building, and Kazoe gestured for his students to stand and make their requisite bows.

"Ukitake, stay behind." He said brusquely. "The rest of you are dismissed."

As the other students filed out of the classroom, Juushirou gathered his papers together, eying the teacher tentatively as Kazoe crossed the room towards him. As the sliding door slid closed behind the last student, Kazoe beckoned for him to step out from behind his desk, and, not without misgivings, Juushirou did so.

There was a moment of silence, then,

"I expect you to pay full attention in my class." Kazoe's tones were low and even, but Juushirou knew he was not pleased, and he swallowed hard.

"Yes, sensei. I'm sorry, sensei."

"I realise that there are probably things that you haven't had the occasion to learn yet, and I also understand that your health is a concern." Kazoe continued. "But I don't intend on making exceptions for you in my class, and I want you to realise that now. If you're here, you're here to learn. And I expect one hundred percent focus from you all of the time."

Juushirou bowed his head low before his companion, raising his gaze at length to meet the teacher's quizzical one.

"I don't want you to make exceptions for me, sensei." He said honestly. "If I did, I wouldn't be here. I'm truly sorry I let my mind be distracted in your class, and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. But please, I don't want to be considered any different from my classmates. I wasn't paying attention. That's all."

Kazoe stared at him for a moment, and then a faint smile touched his lips.

"For such a frank admission, I should give your fingers strikes with this, just so you keep it in your mind what I expect from you." He said frankly, and Juushirou's eyes widened. Then, very slowly, he held out his hands, and Kazoe shook his head, pushing them aside.

"No. Not this time." He said. "I like your honesty, and the fact you don't try and make excuses for yourself. I'm not inclined to tan your hands today, Ukitake. But the next time..."

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Genryuusai-sensei wants us to not use physical force on you unless absolutely necessary." He admitted. "But I'm not one who believes in making a weak body stronger by smothering it in cotton wool. You're here to learn to fight against dangerous monsters who would think nothing about taking your life. So I want you to understand that from the start."

He smiled slightly.

"If you behave, then I'll never have to consider punishing you." He added. "And we'll both be happy."

Juushirou took a deep breath, swallowing hard at the mention of Hollows.

"I would sooner you punished me for my misdeeds, sir, even if that meant it compromised my health or caused an attack." He said soberly. "My Father was killed by a Hollow, and I wasn't able to prevent it. But I want to know how to prevent it happening to anyone else I love. And whatever it means to be able to do that without flinching or failing, I'll do. I'm no different from my classmates, in the end. I want to succeed, too."

Kazoe rested his free hand on the boy's shoulder, and Juushirou saw a fleeting amount of respect in the man's eyes.

"I'm glad to hear it." He said frankly. "With that attitude, you'll doubtless go far. What you've chosen to do takes guts, after all."

He turned, moving towards the front desk and scooping up an old bound volume, holding it out.

"Your extra reading." he said, as Juushirou stared at him blankly. "I'm sure that, once you've read through the first two or three chapters, you'll no longer have any reason to be confused. Whether you read any more than that is your decision - you can return it to me when you consider you've read enough."

"Yes, sir." Comprehension flickered in Juushirou's gaze, and he nodded, taking it and bowing his head once more. "I understand. Thank you."

"Then be gone with you." Kazoe flicked his stick towards the sliding door. "And I'll see you next lesson."

Thus dismissed, Juushirou clutched the volume to his chest, leaving the classroom and stepping out into the hallway beyond.

"You're in one piece, then?"

A voice startled him and he turned in surprise, seeing the tall, gangly form of Houjou Enishi lounged up against the wall. He paused, confused, and at his expression, Enishi grinned.

"I waited for you." He said, as if it explained everything. "In case you got broke into pieces and needed putting back together."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Well? Did he get tough?" He asked. "Kazoe-sensei's legend, you know, for being as tough as they come. My cousin found that out the hard way."

He grimaced, shaking his head.

"Not pretty. Like I said, he's legend. And, well, you don't look strong enough t'stand up to too much of that. So I figured, you might need someone t'help you. When you got out."

Despite himself, Juushirou grinned at his classmate's clumsy sympathy, and he shook his head.

"No. Because it's so early in the term, I only got a warning and extra reading." He said, patting the book as proof. "But thank you, Houjou-kun. I'm grateful for your kindness."

"Well, you put that pompous Shihouin brat in his place pretty well." Enishi grinned back. "I don't understand why he's latched in on you so badly since first day, but you've not let it get to you, and that's pretty impressive. Plus, not all Clan folk are like that. Some of us don't care about the rivalry stuff, or about the fact you're not one of us."

He eyed the book ruefully.

"How much have you got to read of that, then?" He asked. "It looks like a biggie - and probably full of complicated concepts and theories, too."

"I haven't looked, yet, but probably." Juushirou agreed. "Sensei said three chapters, but I don't know. Depending on how easy it is to understand, I think I'm planning on reading the whole book. After all, he said I could return it when I felt I'd read enough - which seems to me to be a hint to read as much as possible. I think he's testing me, and I'm not going to let him down."

"The whole thing?" Enishi looked aghast. "And you're okay with that? I think I'd rather have had the beating."

"I'm a quick reader." Juushirou shrugged. "There have been times, at home, when all I've done for days on end is read, after all."

He smiled.

"Either to myself or to my siblings, from time to time." He added. "So it's not as much of a chore as it seems."

"You're smart, aren't you?" As they made their way along the hallway, Enishi glanced down at his companion, seemingly taking in his slim form carefully, and Juushirou shrugged again.

"I don't know." He said honestly. "Till I came here, I had no one to compare myself with. And there are a lot of things I don't know. So I wouldn't say that I was smart. But I do work hard when there's something to be learnt."

He looked sheepish.

"I guess I like learning." He reflected. "Do you think that's odd?"

"No." Enishi shook his head, pondering the point carefully. "I'm a bit jealous, if that's the case."

He shrugged.

"I'm not smart." He said honestly. "I'm not stupid, but I'm not ever going to be top of the class. I've a lot of reiatsu, and I'm strong...but that's about it. Academic stuff doesn't stick in my brain easily. I can learn anything that has to be learnt practically - but all this theory stuff goes over my head. I had to really work damn hard for the guidance tests, and even then I pretty much just scraped into the top class by dint of my high skills in Ouyoudou. I've been studying those since I was four or five, after all - and it turned the balance. I envy people who are smart and who know stuff easily. I often wish I was like that."

Juushirou stared at him, taken aback at this honest admission. Then he laughed.

"There have been times, in the past, when I've wished I was stronger." He admitted. "I know Kenjitsu, but only since I was twelve, and I've done it haphazardly at times. I suppose it's true that everyone has something they want that someone else has."

"I think so." Enishi agreed. He eyed his companion keenly.

"Do you wish, then, that you were Clan born?" He asked curiously. "Being that Kuchiki's pretty much blanked you from day one, and Shihouin keeps digging at you - does it bother you?"

"I don't say I like it, but I'm not going to let it stop me." Juushirou smiled. "I'm stubborn, you see. Too stubborn, sometimes. And I've made up my mind to do this, even if everyone hates me. So no. I don't wish I was Clan born. I wouldn't change my family. There's nothing wrong with them and I'm not ashamed. Genryuusai-sensei believes in me, so that's all I need to push on. I'm not going to fail, even if they want me to. No matter what happens."

He looked rueful.

"Although I'm going to have to study a lot harder, if I want to catch Kuchiki-kun." He said wryly. "We've not got to practical lessons yet, but in theory classes he seems to know an awful lot already. That's one of the reasons I tuned out earlier, I think. He was getting so complicated in his explanation of the Four Arts and then I got distracted and didn't realise that Kazoe-sensei had started talking again."

"The Kuchiki-ke begin training their sprogs from the moment they're in the cradle, though." Enishi said knowledgeably. "It'd be strange if he wasn't like that."

"I suppose so." Juushirou acknowledged. "And my own education is patchy at times, too. I missed a couple of years study for various reasons, so no doubt there are plenty of gaps I still need to fill."

"But you came second in the guidance tests, didn't you?" Enishi pointed out. "I bet, if you worked hard from now, you could overtake him."

"Overtake him?"

"Kuchiki." Enishi grinned. "I figure he must've been top, after all - judging by the way he is in class."

"Yes, I think so." Juushirou frowned. "I think I'll take a bit longer before I'm really in his league."

"But you're smart, at least." Enishi said philosophically. "So you'll probably do it eventually."

At that moment they reached the dorm, and Juushirou paused, a grin touching his features.

"Do you think Shunsui's still sleeping in here?" He wondered. "Kazoe-sensei looked livid when Shikibu-san mentioned him not turning up again. It can't carry on like that forever, surely?"

"I guess not, though he's got a lot of guts to do it." Enishi reflected. He laughed. "But it's fine. So long as Kyouraku doesn't intend to come to class, it means I can't rank bottom in any class test. If he doesn't show up, he can't score - right? Common sense. So it doesn't worry me, if that's how he wants it."

He gestured to the book.

"When you've dumped that, let's head out to the forest." He suggested. "We've a little while till next class, and I want to see how good your Kenjitsu stances are."

"Kenjitsu stances?" Juushirou looked startled. "But we're not meant to...we haven't begun in class yet, and..."

"Not with sticks. Just stances. That should be fine." Enishi assured him. "And like I said, I've been doing it forever."

He grinned.

"Unless you don't want to spend time with me, of course..."

Juushirou returned the grin.

"It's not a question of that." He responded. "I've no objections to that at all, Houjou-kun. I just don't want to get anyone into trouble. I don't know if I'm on eggshells here or not, but some of the teachers like me more than others, and I think it's because they think Genryuusai-sensei's making allowances to let me be here. So I don't want to rock any boats I don't have to - if you get my meaning."

"I promise, it'll just be stances." Enishi assured him, relief in his dark eyes, and with a jolt Juushirou realised his words about spending time together had not been in jest at all. For a moment he digested this, then he smiled, meeting the older boy's gaze with a warm one of his own.

"Maybe, with a friend's guidance, I'll learn more quickly the things I don't know." He reflected, pushing back the sliding door. "And if I can return the favour with our studies at all, Houjou-kun, don't hesitate to ask. After all, we have to help each other, right? Isn't that part of why we're here?"

They stepped into the dorm, Juushirou's gaze flitting to Shunsui's bed, but his dormmate was long gone, the covers tossed back and the curtains at the adjacent window flapping lazily in the wind. Enishi raised his eyebrows, moving to pull the glass screen shut.

"Do you think he went out that way?" He wondered, gazing down at the ground below, and Juushirou frowned, remembering Sora's frantic hunt on the first day of term.

"Maybe." he said at length. "Apparently he's good at escaping from places and people."

He shrugged.

"Either way, he's not here." He added. "So obviously he's not intending on coming to class later, either."

"He hasn't come to many this week." Enishi remembered. "Last night he said he'd slept through the afternoon bell...the day before he was exploring the forest. I don't know. He's a weird one, that one. I don't understand him at all."

Juushirou opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, he was aware of a muffled sound in the corner of the chamber, and he turned, eyes widening as for the first time he registered that someone else was in the dorm.

Curled up against the wall in the corner bed was the small, pathetic form of Endou Hirata, the youngest member of the top class, and, up till now, someone with whom Juushirou had not exchanged more than two words. He had kept himself to himself throughout those first few days, turning up to class yet not venturing any opinion, and whenever anyone spoke his name he stared at them like a frightened rabbit from behind his glasses, as if his vocal chords were paralysed just by the brief flash of attention directed his way. Otherwise, he had shown little expression about anything, and, not quite sure how to approach the situation, Juushirou had left well alone. He was, after all, a descendant of the Endou clan, a martial clan almost as proud and twice as unforgiving as the Shihouin when it came to a conflict of interest.

Now, however, Juushirou realised the young boy had come to the safety of the dorm in order to let rip his feelings in peace and quiet, and, curled up away from his classmates, he had been sobbing his heart out.

Juushirou, as the eldest of eight children, was not able to just turn his back and let this pass. He set his book down on his bed, crossing the chamber towards Hirata's bunk.

As he did so, the boy stared at him in fright and confusion, and as Juushirou sat down on the side of the thin mattress, he pulled back, grasping his blankets and pulling them tightly around his shaking body.

At this, Juushirou's eyes widened in disbelief.

Was this child..._scared_ of him for some reason?

"Are you all right, Endou-kun?" He asked gently, and Hirata continued to stare at him out of tearful, pale blue eyes, seemingly unable to form coherent words.

Juushirou sighed.

"Do you hate me too, then, because I'm not Clan born?" He asked softly, and Hirata's eyes widened. Hastily he shook his head.

"Then why are you acting like I'm going to hurt you?" Juushirou pressed, and Hirata swallowed hard, not making any attempt to lower the blanket.

From his post by the door, Enishi tut-tutted under his breath.

"Endou, it ain't polite to ignore someone when they're talking right at you." He said frankly. "Be a man a bit and find your voice, huh? Ukitake's asking you something. At least answer him."

Hirata swallowed hard, then, in tones so soft Juushirou had to strain to hear them,

"I want to go home."

"Home?" Juushirou was surprised. "Home, as in...to your family?"

Slowly Hirata nodded his head.

"You don't want to be here?"

Hirata shook his head, fresh tears brimming in the pitiful eyes, and despite himself, Juushirou's heart went out to the younger boy. Hirata was, he knew, only fifteen - the same age as the twin brother and sister he had left behind in District Six. He was considered something of a prodigy by his clan, for he had heard Sora talking about the subject the first night they had arrived, yet more than that he did not know. And though the Endou Clan had something of a fearsome reputation, Juushirou was struck by the complete lack of self-possession this miserable mite had.

"Then maybe you should've stayed home an' waited a year or two." Enishi suggested. "Since you're just a kid and all - you could've done that, instead of coming and being miserable like this."

Hirata shook his head again, and Juushirou frowned.

"Your family wouldn't let you do that, I suppose?" He murmured softly, and Hirata buried his head in his hands. At length he shook his head yet again.

Juushirou sighed.

"And you're homesick." He continued. "But you don't want to let people see it. Because you're worried that, if they do, it will get back to your family. And they'll be cross with you. Is that it?"

Hirata's head shot up, surprise and dismay in his pale eyes, and Juushirou nodded.

"I suppose it's a lot of pressure, sometimes, coming from a Clan." He reflected. Then he smiled, reaching out to touch Hirata's arm, glad when the boy did not immediately pull away.

"But none of that means anything to me." He added. "Because I'm not connected to any of them. And I'm certain no one in the Endou-ke would care about what I had to say, even if I wanted to tell them. Which I don't, by the way. I think it's natural to be scared and miss your family. Especially if you've never been away before."

He shrugged.

"It's my first time away from home too." He said matter-of-factly. "I miss Okaasama and my siblings a lot, and I'm sad when I think of the fact the sea is so far away. But it's all right, because I've come here with a purpose in mind and I'm going to work hard to achieve it. I'll see my family soon, after all. And so will you yours. It's only a few months, in the end. And once you settle down, it'll be easier. After all, Sora said you were quick-witted and you had talent. You'll probably do well here, and make your parents proud."

Hirata's eyes widened for a moment, staring at Juushirou in surprise. Then, very slowly, he lowered the protective blanket shield.

"You...you haven't been away from home before, either?" He murmured, and Juushirou shook his head.

"Up till two Winters ago, I was practically unable to leave the house." He agreed, deciding that in this instance, sharing his weakness might be a positive rather than a negative move. "I was very ill for a long time, and I wasn't able to get up. Because of it, there were a lot of things I couldn't do. And when I hear how much Kuchiki-kun knows, or hear about Shihouin-kun or Houjou-kun and their Kenjitsu skill, I worry that I won't match up either, in the end. But I'll do my best. It's all I can do, after all."

"So that's why you said you had gaps." Enishi mused. "You were sick?"

Juushirou nodded.

"Something like that." He agreed. "Well, Endou-kun? Houjou-kun and I were going to walk out to the forest and he was going to help me with my Kenjitsu stances. Do you want to come with us?"

He glanced at Enishi.

"You don't mind if he does, do you, Houjou-kun?"

"It's a bit late to ask when you've already invited him, but as it happens, I don't." Enishi grinned. "The more the merrier. You can come along too, Endou."

"I've never done Kenjitsu before." Hirata looked doubtful, and Juushirou reached across to pull him gently to his feet.

"Then we'll teach you the basics, and you'll learn more quickly." He offered. "What do you say?"

Hirata stared up at him, then, very slightly, a smile touched his lips. Slowly he nodded.

"All right." He agreed. "Th...thank you, Ukitake-kun. I'm sorry I hid from you. I..."

"You don't need to apologise." Juushirou shook his head, and Hirata frowned.

"I do." He admitted. "It's just...before I came, a lot of things were said by the Clan about the District student who'd broken into the top rankings, and I was worried...what you'd be like. That maybe you'd be...dangerous. But you...you're not like that. And I'm sorry I let them make me think you were. I just...I don't really know much about the lower levels of Seireitei."

"Well, I don't know much about the upper ones, so we're even." Juushirou said matter-of-factly. "And if that's all that's worrying you, forget it. I'm getting to be immune to Noble disapproval of late."

He laughed.

"We should make a move, before we have no time left." He added. "So let's stop talking and get going!"

* * *

The forest stretched out for miles and miles into the distance.

Shunsui sat back more comfortably against the trunk of the tree, gazing pensively in the direction of the border between Yamamoto land and his own family's domain. It was some miles distant, he knew, despite Sora's remarks about being next-door neighbours, and for a moment a brief sense of resentment flickered up inside of him.

Tokutarou had got the better of him this time, that was for sure.

He sighed, folding his arms loosely across his chest as he glanced up at the patches of sky he could see dotted between the tree's heavy spring foliage. The first buds of the plant's blossoms were beginning to open, he reflected absently, and soon all the trees around would explode into a rainbow of colour and vibrancy – yet they were different trees from the ones that grew within Kyouraku land, and despite himself, he found himself regretting that fact.

_I'm surely not homesick, though?_

He frowned, wondering for a moment about this, then discarding it. He liked his brother enough, and he was truly fond of his Mother. But he was not homesick for the shackles of the Kyouraku-ke or the burdens that came with his high-born blood.

_It's just that escaping from this place is as complicated as escaping from Uncle used to be – and I don't have an accomplice to help cover my tracks this time._

He pursed his lips, as Saku crossed his thoughts for the briefest of instants. Then he forced the image back, straightening himself against the sturdy trunk.

Saku was gone. That was the past. He'd moved on.

"How far are we going to go down this path, Sora?"

The strident tones of one of his classmates caused him to freeze, almost overbalancing on his branch as he realised his hiding place had almost been discovered. His grasp on the branch tightened, as he squinted down through the trees, making out the distinctive figure of his persistent minder standing almost right below him. Not far behind her was the girl who had spoken, plus another girl who he recognised from the top class, and Shunsui bit his lip, gazing at them apprehensively.

Sora was not good at sensing others' auras, he knew that, but he knew nothing about the other two girls and he had no mind to be treated to another lecture.

"So far as we can, I suppose." Sora responded now, turning to face her companion. "Though it's okay, Naoko…if you don't want to follow me all the way, I won't blame you. Just, with the way Kazoe-sensei looked this morning – I wanted to find Shunsui and warn him that he's going to have a teacher on his tail if he doesn't sort his ideas out."

"And you think he came this way?" Shikibu Naoko raised an eyebrow. "Why would he do that, though? Didn't Kuchiki-kun tell you that he was still sleeping when they left the dorm for breakfast? From what you've said about him, he's a layabout and he's probably still there. And you can't go crashing the dorm, Sora. No matter how much you want to find him…girls in boys dorms aren't allowed."

"He'd probably welcome it, if we did that." Sora grimaced, and Shunsui flinched ruefully at her accurate assessment of his thoughts. "But you don't know Shunsui like I do. He doesn't stay in one place that easily. If he doesn't want to be found, he won't be found. He's always been like that, slipping in and out of places and so on. I doubt he's up in the dorm now. That'd be the first place Kazoe-sensei'd go, after all, if he wanted to track him down."

She glanced at the other member of the group, who up till that point had remained silent.

"And Mitsuki said she thought he'd come this way." She added. "So I thought we should check it out."

"Why do you care so much anyway?" Naoko demanded. "He's not your blood kin, is he?"

"No, he's not."

"Then why?" Naoko pursed her lips. "If he was a Shiba kinsman, I could understand it – but why does it bother you if he does as he pleases? It doesn't reflect on your Clan, after all – so why all the fuss and bother?"

"Shunsui's brother _is_ a kinsman." Sora said frankly. "And he's also now head of the Kyouraku-ke. He asked Okaasama for me to keep an eye on him – that's why. I can't disobey the head of my Clan and Tokutarou-nii _is_ blood kin, even if Shunsui isn't. So that's why. It's a headache and a pain but I can't give up on him yet. At least, not so early in the term."

"I don't think he's far away." Mitsuki put in at that moment in her soft, gentle tones. "I really think he came this way, Sora. And even though he's trying to hide his reiatsu, I'm pretty sure…he's still in the forest."

Shunsui stiffened, inwardly berating the girl's perception. As he looked at her, he remembered vaguely that on the first day of classes Ryuu had greeted her with sombre formality, and he bit his lip till he could taste blood, realising that although her name was Edogawa, the girl was somehow connected to the Kuchiki-ke.

And the Kuchiki-ke, were, after all, renowned for their spiritual skill.

"Then I guess I'm going to keep on looking, even if it means I'm late back for lunch." Sora said resolutely, and Shunsui's heart sank as he registered the note of determination in the girl's tones. "If you think he's here, Mitsuki-chan, then I'm going to trust in you and keep looking."

"Then I suppose I'm helping too." Naoko sighed, but shrugged her shoulders. "We girls need to stick together, after all – we're already in the minority, so we have to stay on the same team."

_A little less teamwork right now would suit me a lot better._

Shunsui's expression became grim as he gauged his chances of slipping away through the branches before any of them decided to look up. It was risky, he knew, even if he had been familiar with the forest's layout, but as yet he was not, and he faltered, realising that his best option was to stay still and quiet and hope that they left.

He was out of luck.

At that moment a bird flew out of the upper branches of the tree and, at the resulting sound Naoko glanced up, letting out an exclamation as she made out the blue and white haze of _hakama_ concealed among the branches.

"Sora! Look! Up there!" She exclaimed, and Shunsui cursed, realising that the game was up.

"Kyouraku Shunsui!" Sora glared up at him, hands on hips, and Shunsui knew there would be no escaping now. "You get down here this instant and explain yourself!"

"Mitsuki was right. He _was_ up there all the time." Naoko reflected, as Shunsui let out a heavy sigh, grabbing hold of the overhanging branch and swinging himself neatly down onto the ground beside them. "Kyouraku-kun, are you a monkey? Because well-bred Noble sons do _not _spend their time climbing trees."

"I'm sorry, Shikibu-san." Shunsui offered her a wry smile, bowing his head mock-apologetically towards her as he did so. "But the view was so much prettier up there, so I suppose I got carried away and climbed up to see it better."

He raised his head, offering her a mischievous wink.

"Maybe you'd like to join me, next time?" He suggested innocently. "Although now you girls have appeared, the view down here is _ju-u-ust_ as pretty. Perhaps I should stay on the ground, after all."

He leaned closer, a broad smile crossing his lips as he gazed at her earnestly, reaching out a lazy finger to brush the ends of her chestnutty-red waves of hair.

"I still haven't had a chance to get to know all my classmates, after all. Perhaps now would be as good a time as any. What do you think, _Na-o-ko-chan_?"

He put special emphasis on each syllable of the girl's name, and despite herself, the girl reddened, taking a step away from him and sending him a dark glare.

"I've heard _all_ the rumours about you, Kyouraku-kun." She said stiffly, tossing her head as she tried to pretend she was not flustered by his blatantly flirtatious comments. "Just because you think you can seduce all the girls in your family's locality, it doesn't mean you can try the same trick on us. We're not like those girls. We're Clan. And I _don't _remember giving you permission to call me Naoko. So don't."

"He's just trying to wind you up, Naoko. Don't let him get to you." Sora said firmly, grasping Shunsui tightly by the shoulders and giving him a firm shake.

"And _you,_ hold your tongue. You're doing yourself no favours, and I won't rescue you if you get blasted as a result."

"So cold!" Shunsui protested, pretending to be hurt, and Sora snorted.

"Tokutarou-nii only asked me to keep an eye on you." She said unsympathetically. "He didn't say anything about protecting you from angry girls with quick fists and good level reiatsu."

Although she was smaller than he was, and by no means as well built, her grip was strong and unwavering, and Shunsui glanced down at her, resignation in his gaze.

"Kazoe-sensei was ticked off then, was he, that I didn't come to class this morning?"

"That'd be an understatement." Sora grimaced. "He was about ready to set fire to your empty seat – I think that'd be a better analogy."

"I hope he didn't take it out on Ukitake-kun." Mitsuki added softly, anxiety in her dark grey eyes. "He looked pretty cross when he dismissed the rest of us…and he has a reputation, you know, for being…tough."

"Ukitake?" Shunsui looked startled. "What would Juushirou have to do with my skipping class?"

"Nothing at all." Naoko recovered herself, sending him a look of censure as she pointedly kept herself well out of his reach. "Just the boy was daydreaming in the lecture, that's all, and Kazoe-sensei held him back because of it."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You're not so important that what you do impacts on everyone else's well being, you know." She said coldly. "And besides, what trouble Ukitake-kun gets into is his problem to resolve, after all. If he's going to come to class with Clan-born students, he needs to learn right away that he's dealing with a high level of education, not village school classes or whatever they have in the wilds of Seireitei."

"Mm, and I thought _Juushirou_ was the one who finished equal second in the guidance tests." Shunsui said lightly. "And that your position was sixth, _Shikibu-san_ – or was that my mistake?"

His lips twitched into a lazy smile.

"Though I'd expect _you_ to take Kazoe-sensei's side, since he's your kinsman, isn't he?" He continued evenly. "I'm fairly sure I'm right about that – you're both Unohana-ke, unless I'm very much mistaken. And kin seems to matter to you rather a lot, judging by your earlier conversation."

"You were _listening_ to us, too? Eavesdropping on us from up in your monkey's perch?"

Anger flushed Naoko's features, and Shunsui shrugged.

"I was relaxing in the trees when I heard the sound of pretty girls approaching." He said sweetly. "What else was I supposed to do? Your tones are beautifully clear and carrying too, _Shikibu-san_."

"_Kyouraku-kun_!"

Before Naoko could fully object to this fresh affront, however, Sora held up her hands.

"Stop arguing, the both of you." She said frankly. "It's irrelevant, anyhow. Juushirou was daydreaming in class and he got held back – if he got punished, it was because of that. Not because of Shunsui coming or not coming to class. Although it probably didn't help his mood – Juushirou should've known better."

She turned to glance at her dark-haired companion, whose expression was still somewhat troubled.

"It's his problem, in the end, Mitsuki-chan."

"I know that." Mitsuki admitted. "But…Ukitake-kun seems so fragile. I suppose…I was worried that, if Kazoe-sensei was very angry…he might really hurt Ukitake-kun a lot."

"He does look ready to shatter." Sora agreed.

"That doesn't mean anyone should make exceptions for him." Naoko said frankly. "I've no problem with him being here, or with him being in our class. But it wouldn't be fair if he got treated differently – would it? So Sora's right. He has to follow the same rules as the rest of us."

She glared at Shunsui, who smiled at her benignly.

"And so do you." She muttered. "Even if he's not from a Clan, Ukitake-kun at least turns up to lessons on time and he has proper manners, too."

"Meaning that I don't?" Shunsui looked interested, and Naoko spread her hands.

"If you think you do, I'm the wrong person to be telling you otherwise." She said categorically. "Though you reflect badly on Tokutarou-dono, you know, behaving like this."

"He's used to me." Shunsui reflected. "I don't think he has very high hopes of my changing any time soon, to be quite honest."

He frowned, his gaze flitting in the direction of the school building.

"And I think your concerns about Juushirou are unfounded, Edogawa-san." He added frankly. "He seems to be firmly in one piece to me."

"What are you babbling about now?" Sora blinked, staring at him, and Shunsui grinned, gesturing towards the path.

"I can sense his reiatsu not far away." He said blithely. "You really need to work on that, you know, Sora-chan. It's unforgivable in someone who ranked fifth in the top class not to know when a classmate's less than a hundred yards away."

"Oh, shut up." Sora bristled. "At least I ranked in the test and didn't have to have my brother call in family connections."

"Touche." Shunsui seemed unconcerned. "But even so, Sora, I'm surprised you can't sense anything about this one."

He cast Mitsuki a questioning glance.

"What about you, Mitsuki-chan? With all your illustrious Kuchiki genes, you can sense him, can't you?"

Mitsuki reddened, nodding her head.

"Yes." She murmured. "I…I can. And Houjou-kun and Endou-kun are there too. You're right, Kyouraku-kun. They're not far from here at all."

"What on earth for?" Naoko looked bewildered. "Ukitake-kun, Houjou-kun and Endou-kun? What's with that combination?"

Sora giggled, despite herself.

"It's quite a funny one, all in all." She remarked. "Houjou-kun must be six foot at least, and built like a mountain gorilla. Endou-kun's tiny in comparison. And Juushirou's not exactly average looking himself - the three of them are quite a picture, when you think about it."

"I didn't realise Endou-kun actually spoke." Naoko admitted, looking non-plussed. "But I suppose he must do, unless Ukitake-kun and Houjou-kun are mind-readers."

She snorted.

"In Houjou-kun's case, I doubt that."

"What's wrong with Houjou-kun?" Mitsuki looked startled, and Naoko shook her head.

"Nothing at all." She responded. "He's not a bad person. He's just clumsy when it comes to people. That's all."

She laughed.

"I met him at a social event once last Winter." She added. "His father and mine are acquainted, so I had to dance with him and by the end of it my toes were bruised and my fingers felt like they'd been crushed to death. He really doesn't have many social graces, let's put it that way."

"Really?" Shunsui pursed his lips. "He sounds interesting. I must make time to talk to him."

"Oh, you." Sora scolded. "You're just trying to be provocative now, aren't you?"

"I don't have to try. It comes naturally." Shunsui said absently, his gaze flitting once more in the direction of the copse. It was Juushirou's reiatsu all right, yet it had a different, slightly rougher feel to it today than it had in the times they had crossed paths since the first day, and his brows knitted together as he wondered at what it meant.

"I think you might be misjudging Juushirou-kun too, you know." He added lightly. "I have a feeling he's going to surprise people."

"You think so?" Despite her irritation, Naoko shot him a startled look. "How would you know, when you've not been to classes? Sure, he seems like he's got a quick enough brain – but he's fragile and thin and obviously either half-starved or neglected in some way or other. What do you suppose he's going to be like when we get into practical classes? I can't imagine he'd be very good at Ouyoudou – no matter how much theory he can understand."

Shunsui's eyes narrowed, and slowly he shook his head.

"You're wrong." He said simply.

"How?" Naoko demanded, and Shunsui smiled at her, shrugging his shoulders.

"Just a hunch." He responded lightly. "Because that's the bell for lunch, I think. And I don't know about you pretty ladies, but I'm hungry – so how about accompanying me back to campus?"

"You can find your own way back." Sora told him flatly, grabbing Naoko and Mitsuki firmly by the arms. "Come on, you two. Let's go and leave him to it."

With that she was gone, pulling her companions with her into the woodland, and Shunsui chuckled under his breath, shaking his head in amusement.

"Predictable as ever." He murmured. "But I suppose I'll have to watch out for Kazoe-sensei a little, won't I? If he's going to be that kind of teacher – I might want to make myself even more scarce when he's on the prowl. Thank you for the warning, Sora-chan. I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

With that thought, he closed his eyes, focusing all his thoughts on reaching the school building. At first, nothing happened, but as he felt the world twist and distort around him, he let out his breath slowly and steadily, keeping his concentration as he felt the ground beneath his feet change from thick grass to pebbled pathway.

He opened his eyes, realising that he was at the edge of the courtyard, and a wry smile touched his lips.

_Not quite, but close enough. _

He glanced at his hands.

_I wonder why it's so much harder when I stop and think about it. Getting to Saku's town was almost as easy as breathing, but_…

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders as the thought of Saku brought his mood back down.

_Never mind. A little is enough for now. At least at this level I can escape more easily into the forest whenever I want to. For now, I suppose, that will just have to do._

He shrugged, folding his arms across his chest as, with this thought in mind, he sauntered idly across the grounds towards the main school building in search of food.

_**

* * *

  
Author's note:**_  
If you haven't read the prequel, Juu's tree remark won't make much sense. But then everyone's read the prequel first...right? :D

_**Additional: Classes at the Ancient Academy.**_  
_It seems logical to me that classes and Shinigami schooling/emphasis has changed between this time and the more modern recollections of Renji and company. Skills will be still developing and (if you've read the prequel) it'll become apparent that use of zanpakutou is also changing as the Shinigami and souls of Seireitei learn more about them and their potential against the Hollow problem. So the Four Arts of the Shinigami are the core curriculum I've decided on for Juu and Shunsui's education. They are as follows:_

_**Ouyoudou **__(Practical Skills) - Initially largely Kenjitsu (Sword work) but also probably at a later date Hakuheisen (Hand to hand combat). In current Bleach terminology, that's known as Hakuda, I believe, and listed as a separate skill - but since it's a specialist skill, I figure in this time period it's probably still raw and limited to advanced classes/specialist level only. Shihouin Kai is probably familiar with it, however ^_^. And Houjou Enishi certainly is.  
__**Kidou **__(Demon arts) - magic, essentially :)  
__**Hohou **__(Speed skills - this includes Shunpo and so on and so forth. Shunpo is a skill not generally mastered by First Years.  
__**Sakusen**__ (Strategy and tactics. Sakusen is the Japanese word for 'tactics' and it's spelt with the kanji for 'make' and 'war'. Nuff said, right?)_

_Ouyoudou is a practical lesson, Sakusen a theory lesson. The other two are both studied through practical and theory._

_For the First Year, too, there's no swords for the students. Not even Asauchi. Bokutou sticks only, I'm afraid, and only within class hours! ;)_

_Disclaimer: I know nothing about martial arts and so on and probably never will. (That's not a hint that I want to, though, by the way...LOL!) I have read that the term Kenjitsu is older than Kendou, which is why I've used it in these stories. I don't pretend that all the technical stuff is right - I'm not really trying to make it right so much as write a story that works, so forgive me, martial arts experts, if I get things out of whack. In the prequel, Ukitake practiced Kendou, because I didn't think about the correct terms so deeply till now. So meh. That's how it is :P _


	4. Taming The Dragon

**Chapter Three: Taming The Dragon  
**

"Each of you, take your _bokutou_ and line up against the far wall, if you please."

With a clatter, the door of the large practice gymnasium was thrown back, and as all of the students jumped in surprise, a tall, well-muscled woman strode into the centre of the chamber, casting each of them a cursitory glance as she walked past towards the front of the room. It was the start of the sixth week of term, and after having sat through tedious, droning lectures on safety and fair practice, it was the first time the students were about to embark on practical stick work in the school's large, purpose-built training building. It had been commissioned and constructed exactly to meet Genryuusai's specifications, and as a result it was the largest hall within the estate's grounds, its stonework still clean and fresh and undamaged by either elements or time as it stood as a proud symbol of the school's aims.

"Well?"

As noone moved, she paused, eying them all with a challenging glare,

"I gave an instruction. I expect it to be obeyed_ at once_!"

That was enough, and with a scramble of feet on wood, the students hurried across the gymnasium to carry out her orders, pushing their way through to the rack of _bokutou_ that stood in the furthest corner. As Ouyoudou required direct physical combat, it had been decided that all eighteen of the First Year students would take this class together, allowing for more variety in partnerwork, and as Juushirou slipped his fingers around the smooth wood of the nearest stick, he felt a flicker of apprehension in his heart.

This wasn't training on the mountain, after all.

This was for real.

As he hurried to take his pace in the line of students near the wall, he noticed that even Shunsui had bothered to turn up for this class, and as he caught the boy's gaze, his classmate offered him a rueful grimace, tapping his _bokutou_ idly against the flared leg of his_ hakama_ as he did so. Something in that genial glance gave Juushirou fresh heart, and he returned it with a smile, taking his place beside Enishi with a little more confidence. He wasn't the only one, after all. And despite his physical frailty, he had always enjoyed the sticks practice he and his father had done in the mountain forest.

Of course, he had done little since Hidenobu's death.

A faint shadow cast across his heart at this recollection, and he frowned, forcing it from the forefront of his thoughts. He had tried once or twice with Kamikura, and had been roundly beaten on one occasion by his cheeky younger brother Hiroyuki. At fifteen and a half, the boy was at least as tall and twice as sturdy as his older brother, and he had given him no quarter from the moment they had begun to the end of the match. It had left Juushirou breathing hard and coughing, and Hiroyuki had been roundly scolded by his twin behind closed doors for having pushed the oldest member of the family too hard.

"He's not been doing it as long as you, and he's not as strong, either." Juushirou had heard Chihiro say. "You shouldn't have fought so hard, Hiro-kun. You might've hurt him."

"Shiro-nii's not a wimp, Chi-chan." Had come the frank response. "I beat him, but it wasn't just me making no allowances. If I'd let up, he'd've got me good. And I'm _not_ going to be beaten by him, no matter what. I've been doing this longer, and I'm stronger. There's _no way_ I'm going to be beaten by someone who spends half his time coughing up his lungs and running fevers."

The well-meaning sympathy and brash honesty of his siblings had both amused and mortified Juushirou, and from that point on he had only practiced alone, unwilling to risk the humiliation of losing a second time to Hiroyuki's quick, ruthless parries and strikes. Before Hidenobu's death - before his power had first surged within him - he had been confident that his skills were enough to disarm his brother. But now, with him consciously having to control it so much more than before, he knew that it would be more of a challenge to fight now than it had been then.

And though in the long run he believed he would get stronger, this was still only the first step on a very long path.

"Right."

As the last student slipped into place, the tall, imposing figure of their teacher strode across to examine them once more, glancing each up and down one at a time as she went from one end of the line to the other. At the end of the row, Hirata almost looked about to start crying just at the intensity of her stare, and Juushirou bit his lip, fervently sympathising with his younger classmate. Whoever the woman was, her aura was terrifying and strong, and Juushirou realised that, for all Kazoe's strictness, he was nothing in comparison to the dragoness that now stood before them.

There was a moment of tense silence, then,

"Minabe Ayame." She said brusquely. "That's my name. I'll accept 'Minabe-sensei' or simply 'sensei', but no smart alec remarks or fond nicknames - all right? I'll make it clear from the off that you are not here to learn to play and be all buddy-buddy with one another or with me. You're here to learn how to fight and kill effectively - so that you don't get killed when you are faced with an enemy who has your death on their to-do lists."

Juushirou swallowed hard at this brusque assessment of the lesson to come, remembering faintly the way his father had explained to him how Kenjitsu was first a defensive art, and then, only beyond that, a combative one.

Clearly Minabe-sensei was not of the same school of thought.

She strode across the gymnasium, grabbing up a spare stick as if it was no heavier than a chopstick, and waving it in Enishi's direction.

"You're Houjou Enishi, correct?" She demanded, and Enishi jumped, nodding his head.

"Yes, sensei."

"And you," Minabe swung around, taking Kai off guard as she thrust her stick up towards his chest. "You're Shihouin Kai?"

"Y..yes, sensei."

"Good." Minabe smiled, and Juushirou found the experience twice as terrifying as her glare.  
_  
Good grief. If she's like that when she's happy, God preserve me from ever seeing her angry._

"Both of you, out the front here, now." Minabe flicked her _bokutou_ back towards the centre of the room. "Don't dawdle! We don't have time to waste. Now, I understand both of you have had a lot of training in various combat arts from a young age - correct?"

Both boys acquiesced, and Minabe nodded.

"Then we'll begin the class with a display of what you can both do." She said firmly. "You're both of similar levels of skill, according to the reports given me by Yamamoto-sensei, so it seems a fair match. You can show your classmates how its done. I want you to fight a serious match, by the way. None of this namby-pamby Kenjitsu-is-for-defence-first rhetoric in my class. I'm teaching you to fight, not to play with sticks. You understand? Just because these are _bokutou_ and not swords, I don't want you to hold back."

"If you please, sensei, I also have training in Kenjitsu and other combat arts."

At the sound of Ryuu's voice, everyone in the room froze, and Minabe's gaze shifted across to the speaker, who, from his apprehensive expression, was beginning to wonder whether he would've done better to keep his mouth shut.

There was a long, terrible silence, then,

"Name?" Minabe demanded gruffly. Ryuu hesitated for a moment, then held his head up high as the Kuchiki pride won through over his instinctive fear.

"Kuchiki Ryuu, sensei." He said firmly, and Minabe frowned, her eyes narrowing.

"A Kuchiki, huh?" She said slowly. "Mm. I see."

Juushirou bit his lip, detecting the strong sense of disdain in her tones.

There was another silence, then,

"Well, Kuchiki Ryuu, whilst I'm in no doubt your family's elevated training programs and high opinion of their own skill have left you with a good working knowledge of various techniques, today I have no interest in seeing them." The teacher said at length, every word dripping with a faint, sarcastic irony that made even the normally laid-back Shunsui flinch.

"The reports submitted to me gave Shihouin Kai and Houjou Enishi as the two students with the most Ouyoudou experience and skill among the new intake." She continued softly, and despite himself Ryuu reddened at the dangerous glint in the teacher's eyes. "Most of your classmates are also trained to some degree in one or other of the arts. But for the time being, I have no inclination to pander to Kuchiki pride."

She turned, leaving Ryuu uncharacteristically silenced, her gaze falling once more on her selected twosome.

It did not escape Juushirou's notice that, though in any other circumstances Kai would be gloating, the aura of the teacher was such that today he did not even cast a glance in Ryuu's direction, biting his lip hard in concentration as he prepared to begin the match. Enishi's expression was just as focused, and despite himself Juushirou felt a stir of excitement inside of him.

_A proper battle between two students with years of training. Surely I can learn something from this - more than I could ever learn from practice fighting with Hiro-kun back home in Sixth District!_

After eying the two boys for a moment, Minabe stepped back, nodding her head.

"Begin." She said brusquely, and as if released from their traps by her words, the two students launched into life, Kai darting forward with a rapid sequence of thrusts and parries which Enishi, for all his size and weight dodged to perfection, slamming his own _bokutou _firmly against his opponent's and pushing him away. His own superior strength now told, as he shifted his weight from his left to his right foot, beginning an offensive of his own and Juushirou was aware even at that distance of the sweat beading Kai's brow and the concentration buzzing through the boy's reiatsu.

Yet if he or any of his class thought that strength would win the match so easily, they had underestimated Kai, for even though he was of a smaller size, he was deft and quick, dodging Enishi's second set of swings and leaping at him once more, his _bokutou _extended as he let out a cry of determination. Enishi took a half-step back, only just judging the swing in time, and as there was the cracking sound of wood on wood once more, Juushirou felt his heart skip a beat.

They were fast and furious, yet entirely committed to the match, and as their reiatsu sank and rose, their attacks became more steady and logical than frantic and haphazard. As both slipped into their normal combat rhythm, Juushirou was aware that there was not just force but genuine, ingrown skill in both of the boys's moves, and he began to realise that each had a very distinctive style that marked him out from the other and from the techniques his father had taught him so many years ago.

Kai's chosen mode of attack was quick and deft, using several stabbing swings in one advance as he slipped almost seamlessly from toe to toe, able to change his angle at a moment's notice. Enishi, in contrast, put greater faith in his strength of attack, and used his superior body weight to his advantage when bearing down on his opponent.

For twenty minutes, the match continued, with neither boy completely gaining the upper hand. Then, with a yell of determination, Kai launched himself into the air, somehow twisting his body around to land a blow against the other boy's body. Enishi, struck off guard for the first time lost his footing and stumbled, and Kai's eyes narrowed, determination glittering in their depths as he swung his stick once more, sending Enishi's _bokutou_ careering across the gym with a clatter.

As Kai landed on the smooth polished floor, breathing hard, Enishi steadied himself, a rueful grin touching his features as he met his opponent's gaze.

"Well fought." He said frankly. "You're damn tough, you know, you Shihouin."

"Better you remember it." Kai managed, raising his head with a look of triumph in his golden eyes. "Though you're not bad either, Houjou. You live up to your reputation."

"_Ippon_, Shihouin." Minabe's tones cut across their conversation, and at her words, the two students stood up straight, bowing properly to signify the end of the bout. She nodded, and Juushirou was aware of faint approval in her gaze.

"Good." She said at length, turning to face the rest of the group, all of whom were standing staring at the two combatants with a mixture of awe and alarm.

"Shihouin and Houjou have given you all a taste of the kind of commitment I expect from you." She said frankly. "To give your opponent no quarter and to always, _always_ strive to win. Exploiting their weaknesses and understanding their offensive moves are both techniques that will, as time goes on, become more and more second nature as you progress in my classes. At the moment I suspect your levels are uneven, but don't despair. By the time I'm done training you, all of you will be able to fight a battle of that level and beyond."

She turned, resting a hand each on Kai and Enishi's shoulders, and Juushirou realised with a jolt that Minabe was at least as tall as her well-built student, meeting him at eye level.

"That's not a reason for either of you to become complacent." She added briskly. "You have skill, but you also both had openings. If I was to challenge either of you in your current state, I expect I could easily disarm you within a short period of time. But your commitment and fire are things to value and nurture. Your competitive instincts, too."

She smiled.

"There are eighteen of you." She said evenly. "Which means nine pairs. This room is big enough, I think, for toddlers to take their first steps…but before that, how many of you others aside from _Kuchiki-dono_ here have done work of this kind before?"

Ryuu flushed scarlet once more at this, and, his confidence now buoyed by the teacher's praise, Kai shot him a smug glance.

Slowly Juushirou raised his hand, followed by Sora, Naoko and, at length, Shunsui, though he seemed decidedly reluctant about acknowledging it. Across the other side of the room, one of the boys from the other class whose name Juushirou did not know also raised his hand, and Minabe frowned, her eyes near slits as she examined each of them in turn.

"Six of you. Eight, including Shihouin and Houjou." She reflected. "All in the top class bar one? I see. And you two?"

She wheeled on Mitsuki and Hirata.

"Neither of you have ever learnt?"

"No, sensei." Mitsuki spoke softly, shaking her head. "My Father didn't…think it was appropriate…for girls to learn."

"I see." Minabe reached out to touch her chin, turning the girl's head to the left then the right as she examined the terrified pupil's features. Then she grunted, nodding her head.

"Kuchiki as well, I assume?" She asked, and Mitsuki flushed red, nodding her head.

"Y…yes, Sensei."

"I might've known. Very well. I suppose if that's the case, it can't be helped." Minabe pursed her lips. "But as your sensei, I'm proof that these skills are by no means the province of men alone. Your ignorance at present is not your fault. Your ignorance at the end of training will be your fault, and you will be punished if you do not work hard. Understood?"

"Y…y…yes, sensei."

"And you?" Minabe peered at Hirata, who was visibly shaking at her attention.

"I thought you were Endou-ke, boy. You have that look about you. Am I wrong?"

"N..no, sensei." Somehow Hirata managed to force words out between his chattering teeth. "But I just…n…never…l…learnt."

"An Endou without a weapon is as useful as a river with no water." Minabe said bluntly. "Remember it. Whatever the reasons, you'll get no quarter in this class. And as for the rest of you…"

She wheeled round on the apprehensive members of Class Two.

"At least some of you, this applies to as well. You cannot sit back and assume all the hard work must be done by the top class students. Kenjitsu is a skill with many different facets. As time goes on, I'm sure many of you will find the ones in which you excel."

She sighed heavily.

"Eight students who know the skill, and ten who do not." She reflected, more than half to herself. "All right. Then for the time being, it can't be helped. You, and you,"

She poked her stick in the direction of Hirata and Mitsuki, who both flinched back at her renewed attention. "Along with the bulk of Class Two, form lines at the eastern end of the gymnasium. I will be giving you guidance directly and I expect you to pay full attention. The rest of you…"

He turned, glancing at the students, then,

"In the following pairs, practice." She said bluntly. "I will not tolerate slacking, even if I am not right here to shout orders. At the end of the class I'll want to see what you're all capable of…so do your best to polish your skills to impress me."

Her eyes narrowed, and she slipped her hand into her obi, pulling out a folded sheet of paper and glancing at it before nodding her head decidedly and returning it to its hiding place.

"For the time being, I will not mix girls and boys…though I may do so at a later date." She decided. "Shiba and Shikibu, you form one pair. For the others…Houjou and Kyouraku, Kuchiki and Ukitake, Shihouin and Onoe."

With that she was gone, marching up to the furthest end of the gymnasium and leaving the eight students to assemble themselves without even pausing to make sure they did as they were bidden.

"She's one scary dame, isn't she?" Juushirou heard Shunsui remark, as he and Enishi made their way slowly to an empty corner, and Juushirou bit his lip, glancing at his _bokutou_ and then across at the stiff, unyielding form of Kuchiki Ryuu.

Since the first day of term, Ryuu had not spoken or even looked at him, treating him with the icy disdain of one who feels another is not worth even his time. Yet now they were supposed to clash sticks, in combat, and from the bruises to the other boy's pride, Juushirou felt certain it would not be an easy working partnership.

Inwardly he envied both Shunsui and Enishi for being paired with one another, for though he had not spent much time with Shunsui, he did not feel that his elusive classmate was an unpleasant soul, and so far Enishi had proven to be his first proper friend at the Academy. Yet there was no room for arguing with the determined Minabe, and so Juushirou sighed, resigning himself to whatever the rest of the class would bring.

"I'm ready when you are, Kuchiki-kun."

Ryuu cast him a look, and Juushirou hesitated for a moment, taking in the deep resentment in the beautiful grey eyes. Then he got to grips with his senses, reminding himself firmly that his own mother had been Kuchiki born, too, and that he had nothing to be afraid of from a boy with – at least some way – the same blood running through his veins.

He narrowed his eyes.

"All right." He said frankly, tapping his _bokutou_ against his hand as he did so. "You can ignore me or stare at me like I'm beneath you – I don't mind. It's up to you, after all, if that's how you want to be. But you have to fight me, or you'll have Minabe-sensei on your back again."

"I have no interest in challenging a boy from your level of society." Ryuu said softly, and Juushirou's expression became one of irritation.

"I've no interest in challenging one from yours." He said matter-of-factly, and at his bluntness, Ryuu's eyes widened with surprise. "But here we are, so we might as well get on with it."

He shrugged.

"If you're so sure of yourself, prove it with your _bokutou_." He added. "Else I'll start thinking the Kuchiki are all attitude and nothing else."

Ryuu stared at him, struck speechless, and at his moment of hesitation Juushirou made up his mind, shifting his stance and darting forward with his _bokutou_ raised in the way his father had taught him so many years ago. For a moment Ryuu seemed helpless to respond, then his gaze darkened and he swung his own stick back, slamming it against his classmate's with such force that it sent vibrations through the whole of Juushirou's body.

"I am not a fair match for one like you." He said thickly, and Juushirou's brows knitted together as he forced his opponent back.

"That's what you're going to have to prove." He retorted. "Because I'm not going to be a walk-over, either."

"Do you really think that a boy from Seireitei's bottom level has any chance of defeating one who's been raised with the highest level of education and training in all of Soul Society?" Ryuu parried and struck again, pushing forward as Juushirou defended the strike with his own weapon. "Don't make me laugh. What kind of insult do you mean to place against my clan, Ukitake? Because if you think this is an even fight, you are sorely mistaken."

"I'm making no insults against your clan." Juushirou retorted. "_You _are, if you boast and can't back it up. It's _you_ who casts the image of the Kuchiki, not me."

"That's something one like you wouldn't understand." Ryuu shifted his stance from left to right then back to left again, driving his _bokutou_ forward, but Juushirou had already anticipated it, and he countered, shoving the stick back with such unexpected force that the young nobleman almost lost his balance.

"Let's see if I do." He said softly. "So far you're not proving anything except how much you like to talk."

He smiled slightly.

"I don't tolerate insults to my family either, as it happens." He added. "So in that at least we're equal, aren't we?"

"You have a lot of nerve, District boy, to claim to be equal to a Kuchiki." Ryuu soon regained his footing, surging forward as Juushirou felt his reiatsu prickle and dance at his frustration. "Very few make that claim and live – even among the Nobility. What makes you dare to do it, even born at the level you are?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Juushirou demanded, meeting Ryuu's shot and somehow managing to push it back as the waves of Ryuu's rising reiatsu began to smother and stifle him. "You shouldn't judge people you know nothing about."

He swallowed hard, aware of his own strength beginning to rush through him as the speed of the conflict rose, and he frowned, forcing himself to remember the breathing methods he had used to control his weakness during the bouts he had had with his father. Then, he knew, he had been able to fight even on for an hour without bringing on an attack, but, as much as he still admired his father, Juushirou knew that his current opponent was quite a different prospect.

The Kuchiki-ke reiatsu was legendary, after all. Hadn't Genryuusai-sensei said that even his mother, whose bloodline away from the core of the Clan was diluted and strained had been possessed of a fair amount of spiritual skill? In contrast, Ryuu was a true descendant of the Clan, and as the boy released his power little by little, Juushirou found himself hard-pressed to keep up.

He could release his own strength, he knew, but if he did, would he manage to reel it back in again?

Even now he didn't know the answer to that question. So long as he didn't have to use it, he could keep it well controlled. But whenever he was pushed – and he knew, from hereon in he _would_ be pushed – it was quite a different matter. He was already aware of the burning, flaring waves lapping against the very core of his soul, scalding their way through his system as they drove him to utilise more and more of his own reiatsu to fight.

But if he did not release his own energy, he would be beaten.

And in that instant, with Ryuu's proud, unforgiving grey eyes boring into his soul, Juushirou knew he was not about to let that happen.

He narrowed his gaze, the sound of waves suddenly pounding in his ears as he dropped his spiritual barriers, allowing the floodgates to open and the raw power to pour through his body. As he did so, he felt the familiar, searing pain course through his weak chest and he closed his eyes briefly, resolved not to allow it to control him. He pushed forwards, knowing that his gamble meant he would only be able to maintain the force for a short period of time before the unforgiving _reiryoku_ began to tear away at the fragile scar tissue that filled his battered lungs and caused him to choke and stumble. Yet his own pride had been awoken by Ryuu's dismissive remarks – his own sense of self which meant that somewhere, somehow, deep inside of him he knew he was not about to let his Father down.

_Or is this Mother's legacy to me, that even in her distant blood there's a thread of Kuchiki pride waiting to raise its head?_

At that thought Juushirou's stick met with Ryuu's once more, but this time, instead of disdain in the grey eyes, Juushirou was aware of his opponent's confusion as he tried to ward his classmate back.

No, it wasn't just confusion, Juushirou realised, but _fear_ – actual, real fear deep in the Kuchiki boy's eyes, and as a sudden rush of adrenalin and _reiryoku_ coursed through him, Juushirou knew he had the upper hand. Ryuu had released his power steadily, but even so, he had not anticipated Juushirou's sudden surge of energy and it had thrown him off-guard, shattering his usual composed battle plan and sending him into a panic of his own. Somehow this only strengthened Juushirou's will to win, and with a final, triumphant thrust of his_ bokutou_ he knocked Ryuu's stick flying from his grasp, sending the other boy tumbling to the ground as he did so.

Even as Ryuu scrambled to his feet, however, Juushirou felt the world around him twisting and swaying as the consequences of his gamble began to take hold. He swallowed hard, sinking to his knees as his chest tightened and then spasmed, causing a shudder to run through his entire form. He dragged a gasp of air into his lungs, raising his head slowly, and some distance away he could make out his opponent, standing, staring at him with a mixture of disbelief and alarm.

"Ukitake!"

Forgetting for an instant what the teacher had said, Enishi pushed back Shunsui's _bokutou_, hurrying across the slick surface to where his new friend still huddled, hunched in a ball as he fought a fiercer battle with himself than he had with his Noble born opponent.

"What did you do to him, Ryuu-kun?" That was Shunsui's voice, but there was a note of something else in it, and Juushirou tried to make out his companions in the swirling flood of light that, in his distorted vision, now made up the gymnasium. Something blue and white drew close to him, and then he felt a hand on his shoulder, hearing a voice suddenly in his ear.

"Are you all right, Juushirou-kun?"

It was Shunsui, but Juushirou was beyond speaking then, as another shudder ran through him. He was going to cough, he knew, but yet he fought to suppress it, determined that he would not collapse or worse, choke up blood before the rest of his class.

"What are you doing?"

Minabe was among them in an instant, her sharp tones grating right through Juushirou's soul and he felt every one of her thundering steps as she charged back across the gymnasium towards them. "Why have you stopped – what did I tell you?"

"Sensei, Ukitake…something's wrong with him." Enishi managed, and Juushirou could hear the anxiety in the disembodied tone.

"Ukitake?" Now the teacher was standing over him, and Ukitake felt a slither of fear creep up his spine. Two rough hands grasped him by the shoulders, pulling him firmly upright, and he found himself praying she didn't let go for he wasn't confident he could hold his own balance if she did.

There was a moment of silence, then,

"Kuchiki, what did you do to him?"

"Nothing, sensei! I swear, I did nothing!" Ryuu's voice sounded anxious, not indignant, and from somewhere within his swirling world, Juushirou absently wondered at it.

"You must've done something." Minabe was not to be dissuaded. "Blooded your Kuchiki pride on the boy, did you? For heaven's sake...as if Seireitei didn't already have to put up with enough ego from you people…but I thought at least you'd manage a proper fight!"

"It's…not…Kuchiki-kun's…fault, sensei." Juushirou managed now, every word a challenge as he raised his gaze with some difficulty to meet the teacher's eyes. "I…pushed…too…hard. That's…all."

"Ukitake?" The surprise in Ryuu's tones was unmistakeable, and Juushirou nodded, swallowing hard against the bile that rose in his throat.

"I'm not…good…at…controlling…my reiatsu." He murmured. "And…I…lost…control. That's…all. It's…nothing…Kuchiki-kun…did. It's…my…fault."

Minabe eyed him keenly for a moment, not releasing her grasp for an instant, and as she held him firm, Juushirou found he was glad of it, as little by little his senses began to calm and his vision began to clear.

His chest still hurt, but he no longer felt that it was about to explode, and as his panic faded, he took a deep breath into his lungs, steadying the racing beat of his heart.

"Can you stand alone?" The teacher's words were gruff, yet not accusatory, and Juushirou slowly nodded his head.

"I think so. I'm sorry, sensei."

"Sorry is all very well." Minabe sighed, loosing her hold and gazing at him in resignation. "Yamamoto-sensei warned me about you. I should've realised that he meant everything he said, shouldn't I? If you're going to throw yourself into a fight recklessly, you're going to kill yourself before you learn anything useful. You realise that, don't you? What happens if you act like that."

"Yes, sensei." Juushirou did, and he lowered his head, suddenly ashamed of his burst of impetuous pride.

"You're no use for the rest of this class." Minabe frowned. "From the next one, though, I expect you to be a bit more responsible. I'd understood you had a brain. Learn to use it – else this training won't do you the slightest bit of good."

Her gaze flitted to Ryuu.

"Did you complete your training fight, or did Ukitake collapse before you could?" She asked, and for a moment Ryuu hesitated, casting Juushirou a troubled glance. Juushirou frowned, half expecting the boy to lie, but at length Ryuu shook his head.

"No. We finished it." He said softly, his words soft and somehow unlike the Ryuu that Juushirou had come to expect.

"And?"

"It was Ukitake's match."

The admission was reluctant, but honest, and Juushirou stared at Ryuu in disbelief, feeling slightly guilty for having misjudged him.

_Proud, perhaps. But honest nonetheless. _

"I see." Minabe looked thoughtful, then nodded. "In that case, Kuchiki, you and Ukitake are dismissed. Ukitake's no use to me here…Kuchiki, make yourself useful and take him back to the dorm."

"I can manage on my own, sensei." Juushirou said hurriedly, as dismay flooded Ryuu's features, but Minabe shook her head.

"You might say that, but you're white as a ghost and I've no time for students who faint instead of taking proper care of themselves." She said inexorably. "You were foolish, now you pay the price for it. I won't trust you to get there on your own. Kuchiki will go with you. I don't need either of you back here today. Kuchiki evidently has a lot to think about, if he can't win a battle he should win based on his own expectations – and Ukitake, you're obviously a liability to yourself and your opponents when you've less control of yourself than a squealing baby in a conflict situation. Go away and reflect on it, both of you. I expect to see a better face from you both next class."

She gestured towards the door, and Ryuu sighed, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Yes, sensei." He said quietly, casting Juushirou a glance. Slowly Juushirou nodded, following his classmate across the floor without a word.

Once outside the gymnasium, however, Ryuu shot Juushirou a confused look.

"Why did you tell her that?" He asked softly, and Juushirou frowned.

"Tell her…what?"

"That it was your fault. I goaded you – why did you take all the blame?"

"Because it…was my fault." Juushirou shrugged. "I let you goad me."

He coughed, pausing a moment to calm the spasm, then,

"That's my weakness. Not…not yours."

Ryuu frowned, digesting this slowly, then he sighed.

"You are lowborn, yet even so, you have honour." He murmured. Juushirou managed a wry smile at this.

"Where you're born doesn't...determine things like honour, Kuchiki-kun." He said frankly. "It doesn't cost anything, after all. It's not...something bought or sold."

"Perhaps not." Ryuu acknowledged. "But even so, it is the core of the Noble Clans. You cannot understand that – it isn't the same for you."

"I can't disagree, because I don't know...enough either way." Juushirou reflected. "But I…I did mean what I said. That I won't…tolerate insults to my family…either."

"And I should be better bred than to stoop to such levels." Ryuu admitted. "Though I have never thought much about those born below my level, I suppose I have no right to judge them. Just as you said."

They walked in silence for a while, then, as Juushirou stumbled over the steps down to the main corridor, Ryuu held out his hand, steadying his classmate's frail form until he had regained his balance. Juushirou stared at him, surprised, and Ryuu shrugged.

"I have honour, too." He said simply. "Consider it a debt repaid. Minabe-sensei seems to dislike the Kuchiki-ke – she would not have treated me lightly, had she believed I was to blame."

"It seemed that way, didn't it?" Juushirou reflected. "I wonder why. It's not as though you or Edogawa-san did anything to deserve it."

"I do not know to which Clan Minabe-sensei has ties." Ryuu said thoughtfully. "But there are always those who resent the Kuchiki's power, even as there are those who seek to ally with us. It is simply Clan politics. Nothing more, nothing less. An inconvenience, but little else."

"Then in the long run she might not like me much, either." Juushirou reflected ruefully, and Ryuu cast him a questioning look.

"Why so?"

"My mother was Kuchiki-ke."

"Your…_mother_?" Ryuu stopped dead, staring at Juushirou in surprise, and his companion nodded.

"Yes." He said simply. "Though probably not one you ever knew of. She was only a distant relation, I believe…but she had the Kuchiki name when she married my Father. She was Kuchiki Raiko. So even though it's a slim connection – you and I do have something in common, Kuchiki-kun."

"Kuchiki Raiko." Ryuu's expression became serious, and he shook his head. "I do not know that name. But if she was beyond the four degrees, then I can see no reason why I should know her. The Kuchiki has many offshoots, after all. Like as not your mother was one such person."

"The four…degrees?"

"Of kinship, to the centre of the clan." Ryuu nodded. "Any within that band are considered truly Clan. Beyond that are different. Your mother must have been one such, else she would not have made such a marriage match."

"I didn't realise it was so complicated." Juushirou admitted. "But probably, you're right. She and Otousama knew each other when they were young, after all. I'm sure she must've been as you say – outside the degrees of kinship."

"My family are what's considered second degree. My Uncle being head of the Clan." Ryuu continued. "Mitsuki is third degree – she is a second cousin to my Uncle's line. She is also, therefore, Clan. _You_, however…"

He frowned.

"But that would, perhaps, explain it." He murmured. "That force you unleashed at me should not have been possible. For one born as you were…to have such reiatsu…"

"Did I hurt you?" Juushirou was anxious, and Ryuu shook his head.

"Not as much as you hurt yourself." He said categorically. "Sensei was right in that regard. If you have no control, such power is useless."

He offered a faint smile.

"But you do not look strong enough to carry that kind of _reiryoku_." He murmured. "So perhaps looks can be deceiving – and bloodline also."

Juushirou returned the smile, realising that in that moment, the cool disdain which had characterised Ryuu's attitude towards him had dissipated completely.

"I'm here to learn to control it, before it destroys me completely." He said now. "And also to protect my family, if there's any way I can. The Gotei seems a distant dream for me, to be honest – but even so, Genryuusai-sensei had faith enough in me to have me here, and I don't want to let him down. If I can learn something – anything at all – to be of use to him…then I'll do it. Because there's only so many times you can be weak before it starts to break you. Sometimes you have to be strong, too."

"You are not weak, Ukitake. That much has been made crystal clear to me." Ryuu said wryly, and Juushirou grinned.

"Perhaps." He agreed. "But if it hurts me more than the enemy, it's not a lot of use."

"Maybe it's because of that high level that you cannot control it, however." Ryuu reflected. "After all, I'm sure there is no form of adequate training for high level _reiryoku_ in Seireitei's lower echelons. I am Kuchiki, and I am used to high levels of spirit strength from those around me. But what you flung at me today was unlike anything I've ever felt. It was raw and wild, but it was also…"

He paused, shrugging his shoulders.

"Because you lost control, you defeated me by pure force alone." He concluded. "But if you had had control, I think…perhaps you would have been even more frightening an opponent. I do not know what it was I felt in your reiatsu, Ukitake. But whatever it was…I pray I never meet a true enemy with its like."

Juushirou looked startled, and Ryuu nodded.

"Genryuusai-sensei is renowned for his understanding of spiritual potential." He murmured. "If he came to you and sought you out to come here, it means he has seen even more clearly what I saw a glimpse of today. You are dangerous as you are – but most danger is to yourself. However, if you could overcome that…you would be deadly to an enemy. And that is why Genryuusai-sensei brought you here. Because he sees that. He hasn't chosen you simply to be another of his squad members. He's chosen you to be something exceptional."

"Do you think so?" Juushirou was doubtful. "I'm not so sure. I know I have that strength – I've known a long time, to be honest, even if I haven't understood it. But my body…my body's weak and I've always been prone to ill health. So in the end, no matter what my _reiryoku_ – I might not be as strong as you think, Kuchiki-kun. I may well let Genryuusai-sensei down."

"I doubt he would make an error of judgement of that nature." Ryuu said firmly, an imperious note in his cultured tones. "You heard Minabe, didn't you? That he'd told her about you. He hasn't just brought you here. He's keeping an eye on you. _He_ expects, even if _you're_ not aware of it. You're evidently his particular project."

"I…" Juushirou faltered, remembering Kazoe's words to him in Kidou class, and he frowned, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Then I hope I'm not going to let him down." He said softly. "Because otherwise a lot of people might be disappointed, and that's not why I'm here. I came because Father wanted me to be strong – and I wanted to live up to his faith in me. I came here to become a tree. Not for anything else."

"To…become a tree?" Ryuu looked bewildered, and despite himself, Juushirou laughed.

"It's complicated." He admitted. "But yes. That's my goal. To be a tree. No matter how long it takes me to get there. That's what I want to be."

"You low-born people are strange." Ryuu decided. He paused, then he sighed, holding out his hand.

"But I was wrong to disdain you so completely." He admitted awkwardly. "I apologise, Ukitake. You are not what I thought you were, and I would like to begin anew."

"With pleasure." Juushirou grasped the other boy's hand, clasping it warmly in his own pale ones. "I'm glad, Kuchiki-kun. I don't want to fight with anyone here. And I'd like it, if we were on better terms."

"Then it's decided." Ryuu seemed relieved. "Though you will not beat me a second time. That I guarantee."

"Perhaps I'll beat you in theory instead." Juushirou suggested innocently, and Ryuu pursed his lips.

"We'll see about that." He murmured. "I have no intention of being overtaken by you in any regard – even if you do have diluted Clan blood running through your veins."

"Then I welcome the challenge, Kuchiki-kun." Juushirou smiled. "From now till we finish, let's both do our best."

* * *

"It was fun, today, doing actual combat practice for the first time."

It was late in the evening and, as he tossed the shirt of his _hakama_ down onto the end of his bed, it was Enishi who made this observation. "It felt good, getting the blood flowing properly. I don't like sitting at desk...that's the kind of class I'm best at, after all."

"_You_ might be, Enishi-kun, but not everyone's quite so convinced." Shunsui stretched out on his bunk, lazily resting his chin on his hand as he cast his companion a wry smile. "Endou-kun was about in tears by the end of the lesson, and I can't say I blame him. I don't know where Genryuusai-sensei found that woman, but she's not someone who I'd want to see angry. I'd believe she could rip even _your _limbs from your body if she so wanted."

"Probably." Enishi dropped heavily down onto the bed-covers, a rueful grin on his face. "But even so, it's probably a good thing if she'll work us hard. We'll learn better that way. And you didn't cut the lesson, Kyouraku - so that means you don't hate Kenjitsu as much as you do Kidou?"

"I don't hate any of them, particularly." Shunsui shrugged. "I just don't like early morning classes. Also, I heard from Sora that Minabe-sensei was Soul Society's answer to a hell demon, so I thought it'd be less hassle in the long run if I actually turned up. That's all."

He stifled a yawn.

"Where is everyone this evening, anyhow?" He wondered. "There's not a party I didn't know about, is there?"

"If there was, I probably wouldn't be invited." Enishi said, with brutal, self-effacing honesty. "But I don't think so. Kuchiki took his towels so I suppose he went to the bath-house. Shihouin had a message from his family's estate, so Genryuusai-sensei sent for him. I don't know about Endou or Ukitake. I've not seen Ukitake since class this morning - Kuchiki came back to lessons this afternoon, but Ukitake didn't. I hope he's okay."

There was genuine anxiety in the boy's tones, and Shunsui eyed him keenly.

"You like Juushirou, don't you?"

"Yes." Enishi was surprised. "Why?"

"It doesn't bother you that he's not Clan?"

"No. Why? Does it bother you?" Enishi frowned. "You don't seem like the type who would be, but still..."

"Not at all. On the contrary, I think it works in his favour." Shunsui grinned lazily. "No, I was just curious. That's all."

"I'm not interested in all of that high society political stuff." Enishi shrugged. "Besides, Genryuusai-sensei's my kinsman, and if he believes in Ukitake, I'm game to, as well. The kid's smart, I know that. Even if I'm not like that, I can spot it in people who are. And he is - so I don't see why he shouldn't be here."

He frowned.

"He looked bad this morning, though." He admitted. "Do you think he told the truth? That Kuchiki didn't do anything to him? You know what Kuchiki-ke are like...maybe he was afraid or covering or...?"

"No." Shunsui looked thoughtful. "I think it happened exactly as Juushirou said it. I don't think he's the type to lie - or to be intimidated easily. Even by the Kuchiki."

"Maybe you're right." Enishi admitted. "I guess they must've been going at it, then."

"Didn't you feel it?" Shunsui looked surprised. "Right before Juushirou felled Kuchiki, there was a huge surge in power surrounding the two of them. Kuchiki felt it, without a doubt. He looked frightened out of his mind. And I would've been too, if that had been aimed at me all of a sudden. Whatever Juushirou is or isn't, Enishi, he's strong. I thought it before, but I'm sure of it now. He's not a weak fighter. He's strong. And he's going to surprise a lot of people if they underestimate him."

He grinned.

"I guess Kuchiki already learnt that." He reflected. "But it won't do him any harm. He's already on a pedestal above the rest of us, so a few levels knocked down won't hurt him at all."

Before Enishi could respond, the door of the dorm slid back, and Hirata edged into the room, glancing around at his surroundings anxiously. At the sudden look of disappointment in his pale eyes, Shunsui frowned.

"What's wrong, Hirata-kun?" He asked softly. "You look upset - is our company such a horrific prospect?"

Hirata's eyes widened, and hurriedly he shook his head, the gesture fervent enough to send his glasses sliding down his nose. Despite himself Shunsui chuckled, pulling himself into a sitting position and eying the younger boy keenly.

"If it's not that, then, what's eating you?" He demanded playfully. "Did you lose something?"

Hirata shook his head again, and Enishi sighed.

"Endou, if you don't speak up, we can't help you." He said wearily. "I know you're shy, but dammit, we're not psychic."

Hirata bit his lip, looking as though he might burst into tears, and Shunsui pursed his lips.

"Are you looking for Juushirou?" He asked softly, and Hirata's eyes widened, then he nodded.

"It's a pity he's not here." Enishi grimaced. "Seems Ukitake's the only one Endou'll talk to without clamming up...I've tried, but aside from a few words, he doesn't seem to want to talk to me."

"You're a great scary ape to a mite like him, so little wonder." Shunsui said absently. "Well? We haven't seen him, I'm afraid, Hirata-kun. I guess wherever he's been this evening, it's not here. Did you try the bath-house? Kuchiki took his towels that way, so maybe Juushirou did too."

Hirata's eyes clouded, and he slowly shook his head.

"No good?" Enishi frowned. "Hell, where _is_ he then? He wasn't in class with us, and I didn't see him at all during meal-time either. For a skinny guy, he has a healthy appetite, so I can't imagine he'd skip out on that. Where do you suppose he's gone?"

Hirata sank down on his bed, looking utterly disheartened, and despite himself, Shunsui found himself feeling sorry for the younger boy. Hirata was painfully shy, and hopelessly lacking in confidence, two things which had made him more a target than a classmate for Kai's sharp tongue and Ryuu's occasionally aloof, thoughtless remarks. Even Enishi, who was generally more patient was not always tactful enough to realise that although Hirata didn't often speak, he was perfectly able to hear and understand, and as a result had withdrawn more into his shell than ever over the course of the last few weeks.

That is, except when Juushirou was around.

Shunsui had not paid it special attention, but he had noticed that on the odd occasion he had seen Hirata smile, it had been in Juushirou's company. He was rather like a lost puppy, Shunsui decided, who had finally latched on to a potential master. And Juushirou, for some unfathomable reason, had done nothing to discourage the connection. If anything, he seemed to have become fond of Hirata, painful timidity and all, and Shunsui was sure that at least once he had heard the young boy laugh at something Juushirou had said.

"Perhaps he was still sick after this morning." He suggested now, meeting Hirata's gaze. "Do you think he went to the Healing Bay instead?"

Hirata's eyes widened, anxiety in his pale gaze as he digested this possibility, and Shunsui wondered if he'd made a mistake in suggesting it. Fortunately, however, before anyone could do anything more, the door slid back to reveal the subject of their conversation himself, who stopped dead as he registered all their gazes on him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, surprised, and though there was still a hoarse note to his voice, Shunsui noticed that the faint colour that shaded his classmate's cheeks was more normal than it had been when he had left the gymnasium that morning.

For some reason, this came as a relief, and he smiled ruefully, amused at his own reaction.

"Hirata-kun's been looking for you." He said now, gesturing to his roommate who, at the older boy's entrance had sprung to his feet, relief in his gaze.

"Endou-kun?" Juushirou looked surprised, then he smiled. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise. I hope you haven't been hunting long."

"It's all right." Hirata assured him softly. "Are you all right now, Ukitake-kun? You didn't come to class this afternoon, and so I was worried."

"Mm, I'm fine." Juushirou agreed. "Just, Minabe-sensei reported it to Genryuusai-sensei, and he called me to his office directly as I was going to lunch. Since I reacted that way, he wanted to make sure I hadn't hurt myself in any way, so he sent me to be examined in the Healing Bay and I had my lunch there. I've been there most of the afternoon."

He grimaced.

"They wouldn't let me go back to class." He added, frustration in his expression. "So I spent most of it reading. They've only just released me - because I was adamant that I didn't need to sleep the night there. I was fine, really...just because I was running a slight fever when Genryuusai-sensei saw me, apparently it meant all hell was let loose."

"Genryuusai-sensei sure does seem to take good care of you." Shunsui reflected, and Juushirou groaned, sinking down onto his bed. Immediately Hirata perched on the far end, as if afraid his idol would vanish again, yet instead of the sharp remark Shunsui knew Kai or Ryuu would administer in that situation, Juushirou simply shot the boy a warm smile.

"I know he does." He acknowledged now. "Kuchiki-kun thinks its because he has some kind of hope invested in me...I don't know. Maybe he does, or maybe it's not that way at all. Either way, he only sent me to be checked over, but I guess they do things thoroughly in the Healing Bay."

"You don't have a fever now, do you?" Hirata asked anxiously, and Juushirou shook his head.

"No. It was just the exertion of the fight." He assured his companion. "I'm really sorry I worried people."

"I guess, since you said you'd been sick in the past, Endou's mind went to the worst case scenario." Enishi reflected, and Juushirou looked rueful.

"I suppose." He admitted. "But it's all right. I'm made of stronger stuff than that. Just, sometimes, I'm prone to coughing fits. That's all. It makes it more difficult to breathe, so sometimes I can't fully catch my breath. Especially when my reiatsu flares up. I hadn't fought as hard as that in a while, so I went a bit over the top. It was silly, in hindsight...but I wasn't really thinking so clearly."

"Considering what flared from you during that fight, I'm surprised you're still in one piece." Shunsui observed, and Juushirou looked startled.

"Why so?"

"No reason." Shunsui shrugged. "Just that it was one hell of a reiatsu, that's all, for someone born in the lower levels of Seireitei."

His eyes twinkled.

"You're interesting, Juushirou-kun. You're not a bit what you seem at first, and I like that."

"I don't know whether to be insulted or to take it as a compliment you feel that way." Juushirou sighed. "I didn't come here to be interesting. I came here to work hard and do my best. That's all. And to be a tree, if it's possible for me to be."

"A tree?" Shunsui raised an eyebrow, and Juushirou laughed, nodding.

"My Father used to say that people are born, like seeds, and they sprout into delicate young saplings." He said frankly. "But to become a tree, and to be strong enough to stand up on their own, they have to get through the challenges life throws at them and still stand strong at the end. He used to say I was like those saplings - like those baby plants struggling to be trees. Because he knew I had strength, but that knowing how to be strong...that was a longer path."

He smiled, and Shunsui saw the flicker of sadness in his eyes.

"It's stuck with me, even if it sounds strange." He murmured softly. "Especially since he died. I want to be strong enough to be of use to my family, somehow. He's not there any more, after all. And I'm the eldest. So if I can, it should be me."

"Your Father died?" Hirata looked startled, and Juushirou nodded.

"He was killed by a Hollow three years ago." He said quietly, and Shunsui felt a ripple of pain run through the other boy's reiatsu as he did so. He frowned, suppressing the faint flicker of envy that stirred in his heart.  
_  
So what, then? Juushirou was close to his father. Well? That's no business of mine. Everyone's burden is different, after all. _

"By a Hollow?" Enishi's expression became stricken, and Juushirou nodded again.

"To save my life." He said quietly. "He lost his protecting me from danger. So, in return, I'll protect everyone. That's what I promised myself, when I first agreed to come here. That I'd repay that debt. Whatever it took. I'd do it."

"I guess that must be tough, huh." Shunsui spoke up now. "You have so many siblings, as well - it's a big responsibility to take on, Juushirou-kun."

"You still have your mother, though, right?" Enishi added. Juushirou smiled, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yes and no." He replied. "My birth mother passed away when I was born. But Okaasama's taken me as one of her own since I was a year old - so in a lot of ways, she's like my mother. So I suppose...yes. I still have my Mother. In a manner of speaking. I've never known it any other way."

Shunsui eyed him for a moment, taking in the lingering shadow in the boy's eyes, and he frowned, inwardly making up his mind. He got to his feet, crossing the chamber and grasping his startled classmate around the wrists. With one tug, he pulled the thinner student to his feet until they stood face to face, Juushirou staring up at his companion in complete bewilderment.

"Shunsui? What are you doing?"

"I've decided that staying here on such a beautiful night is a waste of an evening." Shunsui's eyes twinkled with mischief. "I'm going out."

"But..."

"Leaving witnesses is a bad idea." Shunsui continued blithely. "And it's no fun, slipping out on your own. So I'm taking you with me."

He paused, casting Enishi a grin.

"You and Hirata-kun are invited too." He added. "It's still early, really, and the sun's only just beginning to go down. If we're quick and quiet, I know a way to get out of the school grounds without hitting the evening curfew patrol."

"Shunsui, are you mad?" Juushirou stared at him, pulling his hands free, and Shunsui nodded cheerfully.

"Pretty much." He agreed. "Didn't Sora already warn you of that? I'm sure my brother'd tell you the same thing. I'm rather good at it, too. I've had a lot of time to practice."

"If we're caught, we'll get into all kinds of hell." Enishi cast a glance towards the window, and Juushirou swung round to gape at his tall friend in surprise.

"You mean you're considering going along with him?" He demanded, and Enishi shrugged, scooping up his discarded shirt and starting to put it back on.

"We're classmates." He said simply. "If Kyouraku sneaks out on his own and gets hurt or something, it'll be as much our fault as his for letting him. And it's pretty obvious we're not going to talk him out of it. You should know that, Ukitake - how many times have you tried to get him up for morning class since we got here? So the safest idea is for us to go with him."

"What about Kuchiki-kun and Shihouin-kun?" Juushirou frowned. "Won't they be suspicious, if they come back and find us gone?"

"Kai-kun won't be back to the dorm tonight." Shunsui said wisely, pulling his cape down off its peg and wrapping it around his _hakama_ loosely. "He's got a visitor from home, hasn't he? They'll take him away from the school for the evening, and no doubt we'll see him tomorrow. As for Kuchiki-kun...he might not approve, but he's not the type to tell tales. And what he doesn't see, he can't tell. So we should go now, before he comes back and becomes part of the equation."

"Are _you_ going to go, Ukitake-kun?" Hirata asked apprehensively, and Juushirou seemed to hesitate for a moment, chewing on his lip.

Shunsui frowned, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's up to you." He said carelessly. "If you're not feeling up to it, I guess it can't be helped. But I thought some air and a change of scene might do you good. You've been cooped up most of the day, after all - you need to get out and about as much as any of us, right?"

Juushirou's eyes widened, and he stared at Shunsui as if seeing him for the first time. As comprehension crossed his sallow features, he smiled, nodding his head.

"You're right." He said firmly. "I have spent all day being treated like an invalid, and I hate that. I'm not helpless and I don't need to be fussed over. I'm coming, Shunsui-kun."

He glanced at the still anxious Hirata.

"If you don't want to, Endou-kun, it's okay." He added, but Hirata shook his head.

"If you're going, I'll come too." He said decidedly, uncharacteristic resolution in his pale eyes, and Shunsui nodded approvingly.

"Atta boy." He said warmly. "Then it's decided? The four of us are going to take a little night trip?"

"So long as we're not out all night. We've class in the morning, after all, and after missing this afternoon, I don't intend on skipping any more." Juushirou said firmly. "Even if you do, Shunsui-kun. All right?"

"All right. No problem. I promise." Shunsui grinned. "Well? Shall we go?"

He gestured to the window, and Enishi's eyes almost fell out of his head.

"You mean...you really do climb out of there when you slip off and disappear from sight?"

"It's not that hard a climb down." Shunsui said casually, unfastening the shutters and pushing them back, releasing the glass screen and opening the window fully. "Look. Just below the ledge there's notches in the wall - I guess either students have climbed here in the past, or, more likely, whoever lived here before had a reason to sneak out without being seen."

His eyes twinkled.

"Or someone snuck in." He added. "A lover, perhaps. The Noble Houses are full of scandal, so I wouldn't be surprised."

"The Yamamoto are my kin, Kyouraku, so be careful what you're implying." Enishi warned, and Shunsui laughed.

"No offence meant." He replied playfully. "I'm only speaking from my experience - the Kyouraku Clan have never been shy with their favours, after all."

He clambered deftly onto the sill, swinging his body around until he faced them.

"I'll go first and spot you down." He suggested. "It's easy enough to see, and the holds are sturdy ones. Plus, this way, we can get easily to a trackway I found the first week we were here. You should be honoured that I'm going to share my secret with you - it leads out of the grounds and beyond the gates and we'll completely miss whatever teacher's on patrol tonight."

"Are you sure it's safe to climb this way?" Juushirou looked doubtful, and Shunsui nodded.

"No problem." He agreed cheerfully. "Just watch me. There's enough light at the moment, so it shouldn't be hard to do."

With that he began to lower himself down the wall, his feet automatically feeling out the ledges and notches as he made his way to the ground. As he dropped onto the soft grass, he saw that Enishi had already begun to follow him, and as he reached the bottom, he leapt clear, raising his head to the window.

"Kyouraku's right!" He called up, only just remembering to hush his tones. "It's easy as anything. Just feel your way - you'll make it, no problems."

"All right. I'm coming down." Juushirou's tones still held apprehension, but the tragic expression was gone from his eyes as he carefully levered himself over the sill, feeling tentatively with his right foot for the first of the holds. He was slower than Enishi, taking it very carefully as he mapped out his route to the ground, but soon he was down, and there was just Hirata left.

The young boy looked terrified, but he bravely swung his leg over the stone sill, gripping it tightly as he felt for the first hold.

Shunsui pursed his lips, gazing up at his shaking form as he slowly made his way down.  
_  
Was I rash to invite him too? But leaving him behind...even if he is a shy little puppy, he'd feel that. And besides, it's probably good for him. He's only coming because Juushirou is, but that's as good as anything. Who knows? Maybe it'll bring the kid out of his shell a bit - and I know if we left him behind, Juushirou'd just worry about him being picked on by Kuchiki in our absence._

He smiled, sending his white-haired classmate a sidelong glance.

_It's exactly as though he's adopted Endou as another sibling. Or maybe a substitute, since he's so far from his own. He's exactly that type, though - the kind who wants to look out for everyone else more than he does himself._

He chewed down on his lip thoughtfully, remembering the morning class, and the unearthly pallor of the boy's features.

_If he's not careful, though, that naivety will probably be the death of him._

"It's all right, Endou-kun. Just jump the last bit. Houjou-kun'll catch you." Juushirou's attention was fully on the younger boy's frightened descent, and as Shunsui watched the big Enishi easily catch and steady Hirata's haphazard landing, he frowned.  
_  
Why am I so worried about Juushirou, anyhow? Aside from the odd conversation, it's not as though we've become particular friends. Is it because of the fact he's not what people expect him to be? Or is it just because, unlike pretty much everyone else, he's honest?_

He smiled slightly, amused at his own train of thought.

_Maybe, in that respect, he reminds me of Saku. He's not corrupted by Noble agendas. And that, at the very least, is a refreshing thing to see. To him, Endou isn't the son of a frightening military family who kill before they ask questions. He's a scared boy who needs a helping hand. Houjou's not an awkward outcast in a social setting, but someone who's trustworthy and warmhearted. He doesn't view people through Noble eyes. He views them as they are. But unlike me, he can say it without being caught up in the consequences. Like Saku did, he has that freedom. Is that it, in the end? Is it because, like her, he's free to think and feel the things he wants to?_

"Kyouraku, are we going?" Enishi's nudge brought him back to reality at that moment, and he started, looking sheepish.

"We are." He agreed. "Follow me - and don't make a sound till I say otherwise. The path we're taking runs nearish to the school building, and although I think everyone should be in other parts of the school, I don't want to give them any wild ideas."

He paused, then,

"And Juushirou-kun, you keep that scary-ass reiatsu of yours under wraps." He added pointedly. "I know I don't need to tell Houjou or Endou that, but I don't know what you might do with yours, after this morning's display."

"One thing I can do is suppress it. I'm not going to give us away." Juushirou sounded offended, and Shunsui grinned.

"All right." He said. "Then in that case, all of you follow me."

* * *

**Author's Note: OC Name Kanji (Part One)**

Since the names of the characters I've created all do have meanings of their own, I figured I'd add the key ones and let people see the way my twisted mind was thinking when I dreamt them into life. Hopefully the reasons for choosing some of them will become clear as time goes on...

**~Kuchiki Ryuu** 朽木龍

The name Kuchiki has two possible meanings. Kuchi can mean 'rot/decay' or 'secluded'. Considering the clan, I'm thinking the meaning is supposed to be the second of these. Ki is tree. Therefore Kuchiki means "Secluded tree". The word 'spirit' in Japanese also reads as 'ki', which could be evidence of another clever play on words in Bleach character names.

Anyone who's read Rain Dragon will know that Ryuu means dragon. Hence the chapter title, Taming the Dragon.

~**Houjou Enishi **鋒城縁

I rather like this one. Hou means "dagger" or the point of a sword. Jou is the onyomi for 'shiro', or castle, therefore Houjou means Daggerpoint Castle (melodrama much!).

Enishi means 'affinity' or 'connection'. I suppose you can read it in this sense as 'bond'.

~**Shihouin Kai **四楓院槐

The kanji for Shihouin mean four (Shi) maple (hou) and institution (in) respectively. I have no idea what Kubo-sensei meant by that (lol) though Shi also has the connitation of death.

Kai is a type of Japanese tree. I thought it appropriate considering the amount of tree-worship going into these stories (with Juu and his trees, the Kuchiki-ke's name, and so on!).

~**Endou Hirata** 延藤平多

Endou uses the kanji for "prolong/extend" and "wysteria". To be honest, it's the most random name choice out of all of them...I have no idea why it stuck in my mind :S

Hirata uses the kanji for 'peace' or 'flat' (Hira) and 'many' (ta). So you might read his name as Peace of the Many - or Much Peace. _Yes, purists, I'm kanji tweaking. Gomen nasai ;)_


	5. Dog Eat Dog

**Chapter Four: Dog Eat Dog**

It had begun.

Kai stood at the window of his chamber, staring down at the quiet street below with sightless eyes. In the room beyond, he knew, his Father and his older brother were still deep in conversation, and if he really listened, he could faintly hear the murmur of their voices in the background. However, he knew that right at that moment he did not want to see or hear them. All he wanted was to be alone, to digest fully what news they had brought him.

"There's no longer any doubt, Kai." His Father had said quietly, his tones heavy, yet Kai had already seen the characteristic Shihouin steeliness in his golden eyes. "This isn't something we can slip out of and forget about. A Shihouin casts his honour in his blood - you know that, don't you? And this is one of those times. After all, we're too deeply committed to take a step back now."

Kai had nodded numbly, fear and apprehension coursing his heart as he had seen identical resolution in his brother's gaze.

He had swallowed hard, forcing his tongue to form words.

"Is this an order, then? Is this what Uncle wants us to do?"

"You should know better than to ask that question, Kai." His brother had reproached him firmly. "When word comes, we act. That's who we are, people of this clan. There's no room for doubt or hesitation. It's been confirmed. There's nothing for you to think about. All you need to do is act."

"Act." Kai pursed his lips together, pressing his fingers absently against the glass of the window as he processed his thoughts carefully. "It's said, so that's how it is. But even so...even so..."

He faltered, feeling a chill of uncharacteristic fear run down his spine.

It wasn't as though he hadn't expected it. If he was honest, he had been waiting for the hammer to fall and for the orders to be sent out across the Clan. But to have it confirmed in such a firm, uncompromising way had simply struck it deeper into his young heart. And though he knew that he would die sooner than betray his family, he felt his heart lurch as he contemplated the consequences of failure.

"The alliance is set and the agreement is made." His Father's words echoed in his mind once again. "There's nothing to be done but proceed."

Kai glanced down at his hands, gazing bitterly at the callouses on his fingers that marked out all his years of sword and stick work. The Shihouin were inflexible and unforgiving, accepting only those who worked and trained to the highest level, and Kai knew that, even despite his considerable reiatsu and superior combat skills, he had still been ranked far below the most elevated members of his family. His Uncle had barely acknowledged him more than once in his short life, and he had felt the oversight keenly. This was his chance to prove that he was just as capable and loyal a member of his Clan - yet even so, he had reservations.

There were concerns, he knew, about the encroaching influence of Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni and his infamous Academy. Just that Spring, in fact, an emergency meeting of the Noble Elders had been called to discuss whether or not it was appropriate for those beyond the Noble Houses to be admitted into the Shinigami training program. The ballot had been a tight one, with two families abstaining completely from giving their view.

On the side against had been the Shihouin and the Endou.

By dint of their kin's involvement, the Yamamoto-ke had been forbidden to take part in the final decision making, and both the Kuchiki and the Urahara had chosen to abstain, based on indecision within their own ranks. That had left Kyouraku Tokutarou and his kinswoman, Shiba Kyouki to cast in favour of allowing it. And Unohana Retsu's had been the final deciding vote.

Three to two with two abstentions in favour of acceptance.

The result had sent shock-waves through the Shihouin-ke, for they had confidently expected that the proud Kuchiki at least would vote against the idea. The Endou's reaction had been twice as vitriolic, and Kai had already heard rumours that armed retainers had begun to sweep Seventh District, looking for any potentially gifted children in order to exile or eliminate them completely. Though the same had not happened in Second District, Kai knew his family were on edge.

Their position was already being constantly overshadowed by the high-flying Kuchiki-ke. But now there were others in the equation - and it had not escaped the family's notice that one of the prospectives from the lower orders had smashed into the top class, ranking equal second with a son of Noble blood on the guidance exams.

This had been the last straw, and a hurried meeting had been arranged between the Shihouin and Endou elders, both determined to find a way to put a stop to this before it could get beyond their control. Kai was smart enough to know that both families viewed it as a state of emergency, and one which meant drawing on whatever resources and weaponry they had to fight a battle that somehow both knew was coming. For that reason, deep, dark Clan secrets had been exchanged as security – secrets which, if they were to be spoken about in public could quite easily mean dishonour and death at the Council's hands.

Kai's own Father was too closely intertwined with matters to be extricated completely, for, on his brother's accession as Clan Leader, he had inherited controlling interest of the family's deepest and most protected Clan secret. Therefore, from the moment the deal with the Endou had been struck, he and his three children had become honour bound to act and defend both the secrets and the alliance with their lives. Though his Father nor his brother had said things quite that clearly, Kai was smart enough to understand the implications. And his dread had only grown when he had heard that his beloved elder sister Midori had been summarily betrothed to the heir to the Endou clan.

His Father was right. They were in a situation where all they could do was act, and there would be no second chances. No going back. He was now at the mercy of his Uncle's orders, after all. And those orders now carried the merged interests of the Endou-ke as well as their own. Kai hated this more than anything else. Somehow he knew that sharing secrets with a Clan like the Endou could only end badly.

He sank down on his bed, running his fingers through his thick hair as he tried to get to grips with the situation.

Midori was proud, haughty and gifted, a blessed and revered member of the Shihouin-ke in all regards. Yet even she had broken down in tears when she had been told what decision had been made, and Kai did not blame her. The Endou were little short of ruthless barbarians, after all. He did not trust them to keep their end of the deal, and he knew they would think nothing of killing Midori if they thought any of the Shihouin were about to back down.

The Shihouin might cast their honour in blood, but the Endou wrote their enemies' names in it. And they did not tolerate betrayal.

He drew a deep breath into his lungs, going over his options in his mind.  
_  
At least, as yet, I haven't been ordered to kill anyone. Even if it may come to that, it hasn't yet. And if it comes, I won't shy away from it. But for now, I'd rather keep blood off these hands as long as possible. Even if I was only sent to this Academy in order to keep tabs on the interlopers...that doesn't mean I want to be involved in an assassin's hit. Not if it's the Endou-ke's orders. I'm a Shihouin, after all. I don't take orders from anyone outside of the Clan - and this is what it amounts to._

He stiffened as another thought struck him, and he clenched his fists tightly.

_Kuchiki must never find any of this out. He must never, ever know that the Shihouin have reached such desperate depths as these. I'll slit his throat before ever admitting it before him...damn it, whatever happens, he must not find out!_

His eyes narrowed.

_And then there's that snivelling Endou brat, too. I've no way of knowing for sure, but who's to say he isn't a spy too? Either way, he's weak enough to talk if anyone puts pressure on him - so maybe he doesn't know all the things I do. Even if he has latched onto Ukitake of late, it could be a coincidence. Still, I daren't take the risk. It's not impossible that his Clan sent him to keep an eye on me - and make sure I don't back out at the last minute. And so I've no choice. Now word's come, I'll just have to do as I'm told to do. My loyalty to the Shihouin outranks everything else, after all. Nothing else matters but that._

"Are you still awake, Kai?" The door slid back at that moment, and Kai turned, nodding his head.

"I was just going over everything in my head, Oniisama." He agreed soberly, and his brother frowned.

"This is a big thing." He said softly. "And if you fail, Kai, noone will be picking up the pieces. You understand, don't you? Too much rides on this. It's not just Midori's life, but the pride and honour of our family - of all the Noble Families everywhere!"

"I understand." Kai agreed.

"And if you're called on to act decisively, you'll do so?"

"Yes. Of course." Kai nodded, not hesitating for a moment. "I'm a Shihouin. Nothing else is important but that."

His brother smiled, resting a hand on his shoulder, but Kai could see the darkness in his companion's identical golden eyes.

"Midori is counting on you." He whispered. "Father and I are, too. Remember that. Tomorrow, make sure you speak to Aitori and establish contact."

He frowned, a flicker of regret in his golden eyes.

"I don't like him any more than Father does, and his slick methods aren't always with the honour of this Clan, but Uncle has chosen to involve him because he has Genryuusai-sama's trust…and because of his other duties in District One." He said. "And Uncle's orders are absolute – you know that. Besides, Aitori's position _is_ the best placed for something delicate like this, so bear with it and keep in with him, all right? Even if you do outrank the man by birth – for the time being, swallow it and follow his guidance. He'll have received the same word from Uncle as us, after all, so he'll be expecting to see you. As a trusted teacher on the staff, he's better placed than you are in some regards. As for Onoe Tomoyuki..."

He paused, then,

"I expect he's had the same message from our cousin, or he'll receive it from Aitori himself, seeing as he's that man's nephew." He reflected. "Knowing the way that boy is, I don't imagine he'll do anything but obey. He's as Shihouin as you or I, in the end, and I doubt he'll cause you any trouble. So you're not alone in this. But there's no reason to create suspicion by acting out of your normal way. You're smart enough to understand more than Tomoyuki does, so be careful how you handle delicate information – things relating to Father and the like."

"Do you think Tomoyuki doesn't know, then, about Father's duty?" Kai asked, and his brother sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"I expect he does. He's Aitori's nephew, and Aitori has worked for Father for many years in this particular matter." He said softly. "But there's no reason to draw any attention to it by mentioning it at school. Don't try and think outside of your brief, Kai – do as you are instructed and nothing more. Just speak to Aitori and make sure he knows you're on board. After that, leave it to him to contact you. It's easier that way than us coming down like this. It'll seem less strange, after all, if you're associated with a teacher than having constant visitors from home."

"I know." Kai paused, then, "Oniisama?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know anything about Endou Hirata?"

"Endou...Hirata?" His brother eyed him in confusion. "Why? Do you think that I should?"

"I don't know." Kai sighed. "He's in my class too - a weedy boy of fifteen who cries at everything and barely talks. I've tried goading him to see if I can get a reaction, but he's either that pathetic or he's a consummate actor. He's become particularly close to the Ukitake boy of late, and I don't know if he's there with motives other than the ones he seems to have. But being that he's Endou-ke - I'd rather know all the facts. If he's watching me, I want to know about it. Because then I can be watching him too."

"I don't know." His brother's eyes became near slits. "But I'll find out, you can be sure of that. I didn't realise there was an Endou in your class, Kai - you should have said as much sooner."

"Or you should have anticipated it." Kai said frankly, and his companion sighed.

"Don't." He said softly. "Just remember what we're about, and you'll be fine even if the Endou-ke are spying on you in some way or other. And wait for the word. I don't know precisely what will happen, in the long run - just that Uncle and the Head of the Endou-ke have been meeting quite often of late and they're discussing something that's so secret even Father doesn't know any of the details. All I know is that, if it's successful, it'll put an end to any question of an Academy or of lower born souls slipping through into positions beyond their birth. If that's the case, our position will stabilise. And everything will be well."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Even if that means we do what we've been trained to do since we were small." He added, clapping his hand down more firmly on Kai's shoulder. "If you're afraid to take life in your family's name, Kai, you were born in the wrong Clan. You know what it is to be a Shihouin. We wait, we listen, we act. And we do not regret. Understand? That's how it is."

Kai was silent for a moment, then, slowly, he nodded his head.

"I understand." He said soberly. "And I'll be ready, Oniisama. Whenever it comes. I'll be ready."

* * *

"Where exactly are we going, Shunsui?"

As the four boys slipped out of the gates of the Academy, Juushirou cast their guide a quizzical look. "You seem to have done this more than once before, so I'm guessing you already have a specific destination in mind?"

"There's a small town just over that rise." Shunsui pointed, and as he looked, Juushirou could see the faint haze of light glimmering in the distance. "It's not more than five minutes walk, and the people are_ very_ welcoming. They get a lot of trade from the students hereabouts, after all - so they're always happy to oblige."

"To...oblige?" Enishi looked non-plussed. "In what way? It's late at night, Kyouraku - surely most of the traders will have packed up for the evening?"

"Not _all_ traders." Shunsui shook his head, and Juushirou narrowed his eyes, grasping his classmate by the sleeve of his_ hakama_.

"If you're thinking of taking us to a brothel, Shunsui..." he began warningly, and Shunsui laughed, gently prising the other boy's grip free.

"Nothing so drastic on your first visit." He said casually. "It's never wise to rush in, after all. But there is a small tavern in the southern quarter where the waitresses are friendly and they like student coin. So we'll head there. And take in some of the local air. All right?"

"We're going to drink alcohol?" Hirata's eyes opened wide, and Shunsui grinned, clamping a friendly hand down on Hirata's shoulder.

"A kid like you probably shouldn't be led astray." He reflected. "Don't worry, Hirata-kun. I'm not about to teach you sinful ways."

"He says, after having coaxed us out of a window, out of the school grounds and into a strange town after curfew." Juushirou said acidly, and Shunsui chuckled.

"You take things too seriously." He observed. "It's a bad habit in one so young. Lighten up, Juu-kun. It's not the end of the world."

Juushirou stiffened, casting his classmate an angry look.

"I already _told_ you not to call me that." He said sharply, and at the censure in his tones, Shunsui looked surprised, holding up his hands in mock-surrender.

"Sorry! It slipped out."

"Well, don't let it." Juushirou said frankly. "Just lead us wherever we're going, and stop teasing people for a while, okay?"

Shunsui stared at him for a moment, but shrugged, saluting smartly.

"Yes, sir." He said playfully. "Understood."

"I've never been in a little town like this one before." As they reached the perimeter of the settlement, Enishi gazed around himself with a mixture of wonder and awe. "I've heard about them, of course, but even though my family's estate is only about fifty _ri_ from here, I've never really taken the time to look around and see for myself."

"You've been shamelessly sheltered, in short, haven't you, Enishi-kun?" Shunsui asked, and Enishi grimaced, nodding his head.

"I suppose you could say it that way." He acknowledged. "My family keep out of political issues, so it's not a fear of scandal. But even so, I guess it is that way."

He glanced at Hirata, whose eyes were huge as he took in the surrounding atmosphere.

"You're the same too, huh, Endou?" He asked, and Hirata nodded.

"Is it really safe for us to be here?" he asked in his anxious, soft tones, and despite himself Juushirou felt his indignation fading as he registered the boy's genuine bewilderment.

"There's no danger." He assured them. "This is quite a wealthy town, really. It's definitely not a rougher border town - but then First District is quite a wealthy district in any case. So there's no need to be afraid, Endou-kun. We're with you, after all."

"I suppose this is almost like your home turf, Ukitake?" Enishi asked, and Juushirou shrugged.

"Yes and no." He admitted. "My family have some land and our home is between forest and the coast near the border with Rukongai, so we're not exactly in a proper settlement. Thanks to Father's hard work, we've done quite well in the last fifty years or so, and it means we've got a few tenants as well, but it's not the same thing. I've only travelled to the local city once or twice and not since he died."

He pursed his lips.

"Sixth District has a different atmosphere, in any case." He added. "The forests near where I live flower in vivid pink in the Spring - whereas the trees round here are quite different."

"Eighth District is different, too." Shunsui put in lightly. "The flowers and the town atmosphere both. Eighth District is known for its floral displays in Spring and Summer, as it happens. But a change is as good as a holiday, so they say."

Juushirou frowned.

"I hate to think how _you_ know all about local towns." He remarked. "If Houjou-kun and Endou-kun got sheltered, what happened to you?"

"I'm good at slipping out." Shunsui grinned unrepentantly. "Besides, I spent my childhood moving between two estates. And I got to see a fair bit of life in the meantime. There were some very pretty girls in the vicinity, after all - who wouldn't want to sneak out?"

"Girls?" Enishi stared at him once more. "Are you...Kyouraku, have you really...with a woman?"

At the awkwardness of the question, the tall boy's cheeks flushed a vivid scarlet, and Shunsui laughed, clapping him on the back.

"It's all right, Enishi-kun." He said companionably. "If you have any questions in that regard, I'm sure I can answer them. They do say you should share experience, after all - and I think I've said before that the Kyouraku-ke aren't shy of sharing their favours. We're a very gregarious Clan, in one way or another."

"Somehow I can believe it." Juushirou sighed, rolling his eyes skywards, but there was a faint smile on his lips, and Shunsui shook his head, evidently amused.

"You're curious too, aren't you, Juushirou-kun?" He asked teasingly, grasping his skinny classmate by the wrist and pulling him to the front of the group. "Well? What kind of girls do you like, then? Gentle ones? Assertive ones? Ones with big bosoms or the slender, nymph-like kind? Blond girls? Dark girls? What's your personal preference?"

"Let go!" Despite himself, Juushirou felt his own cheeks redden, and he wrenched his hand free. "You're teasing again! Stop it! You said we didn't come here for that."

"But you're the same age as I am, so you must've thought about it." Shunsui said reasonably. "Surely?"

Juushirou hesitated for a moment, then he shook his head.

"Not once." He admitted. "I've never had the time or the opportunity to meet girls outside of my sisters and Okaasama. So no. I'm sorry to disappoint you. But I haven't."

"I see." Shunsui tut-tutted. "You've been unforgivably deprived, in other words. What a great combination you three are, honestly!"

"What about _you_, then?" Juushirou turned the tables, casting his companion a challenging look. "What kind of girls do _you _like?"

At his question, Shunsui's gaze clouded for a moment, and Juushirou was startled to see a look of genuine regret touch the normally open brown eyes.

There was a moment of silence, then,

"Girls who have freedom in their eyes." He said softly, his tone lacking any of its prior playfulness, and, startled, Juushirou began to wonder if he'd hit a nerve. Then, in an instant, the sombreness was gone, and Shunsui was grabbing Hirata and Enishi by the arm, pulling them across the street with loud words of encouragement. He sighed, giving the conversation up as a bad job as he headed reluctantly after them.

_But he was upset, then. Enough to let it show. I wonder. Girls who have freedom in their eyes? What does that even mean, anyway?_

"This is the place." Shunsui was saying now, pushing back the door and gesturing for them to follow him inside. "Come on – Hirata-kun, don't chicken out on me now. Juushirou's coming, after all – do you want to be left all on your own?"

At this Hirata shook his head, his expression becoming fearful, and Juushirou frowned, sending Shunsui a cross look.

"Don't tease him." He scolded. "It's not fair – he doesn't like it."

Shunsui grinned.

"He's fine. He has his oniisama to look after him." He said casually, and despite himself Juushirou reddened. "Well? It's warmer inside, and if you're prone to coughing, Juushirou, you shouldn't be out in the night air too long. It's this way – just keep me in sight and you'll be fine. It's not like we'll be the only students here, after all. On every occasion I've slipped out this way, I've seen one or other senpai lurking within these walls."

"He's right." Enishi agreed, gazing around him rather blatantly as they stepped into a warm, low-ceilinged room. "There are others here. Just like us."

"I guess we can see how Shunsui found out about this path, then." Juushirou reflected, pausing to examine their surroundings as he ducked his head below the low beam across the entrance.

He had never been inside a drinking house of any kind before, yet he had heard his Father talking to Kamikura, and he had built up a stylised picture of what one might look like in his head based on what they had said. He quickly realised, however, that his childhood assumptions had been somewhat naïve, for instead of the well-ordered social gatherings he had imagined, the chamber was heaving with groups of young men and women in various stages of inebriation. Some of them were indeed older students from the Academy, crossing the innkeeper's greedy, fat palm with plentiful supplies of gold coin, whilst others were clearly locals from the town. The two kept themselves quite separate, and though a few of the locals muttered in corners about the Noble invasion, none of them dared to speak up beyond their own peer groups.

The room was lit by lamps similar to the ones in the Academy building, but of a much poorer quality, and they flickered at odd intervals, giving the whole chamber a more atmospheric effect. There was a fire lit in one corner, and around it were a gaggle of raggedly dressed youths who Juushirou could only assume to be the bottom level of labourers. Some of them were no older than Hirata, yet Juushirou noticed that already their hands were calloused from hard work as they jostled for places to warm their fingers on the cool Spring night.

For him, born as he was in a world where these people were only just outside his line of sight, his first thought was sympathy, not derision.

"Well, if it isn't Shunsui-kun." As they sank down at a secluded corner table a girl drifted up to them, dressed in the distinctively provocative attire of a hostess girl, and from the hazy look in her blue eyes Juushirou guessed she had either been sharing the inn's wares with her customers, or had been partaking of some other illicit substance before beginning her shift. She greeted Shunsui like an old friend, swinging her arms flirtatiously around his neck and he laughed, detaching her grip playfully and holding her at arm's length.

"You know, Megumi-chan, you shouldn't be so eager to greet me." He scolded lightly. "I'm with friends, and you'll give them the idea that I'm a regular in this place."

"You're mean." The girl pouted, but there was laughter in her eyes. "Besides, _they're _here too, aren't they?"

She linked her arm in his, turning to examine his companions. "So you obviously don't mind if they see me."

"I'm sure it's fairly clear to anyone that there's a lot of pleasurable reasons for seeing you." Shunsui said frankly, offering her a smile which to Juushirou could only be described as lewd. "And seeing more of you than we already are, for that matter. But…this isn't one of those nights. They're first timers, after all – cool down a little and play it slow, will you? I don't want to frighten them, after all."

Megumi sighed, clearly disappointed, but she shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever you say, _o-kya-ku-sa-ma_." She said coquettishly, winking at him as she did so. "Can I get you drinks, then, perhaps? You _and_ your companions, maybe? I'm happy to join you – and I'm sure, if you ask nicely, I can find someone who's far more gentle on first time visitors."

She eyed Hirata for a moment, causing the boy to shrink back behind Juushirou in fear, and then she frowned.

"Though _that _one's barely more than a babe in arms." She said reprovingly. "Should you be bringing children here, Shunsui? It really isn't that kind of a drinking house, you know."

Hirata reddened furiously at this remark, and Shunsui cast Juushirou a glance before spreading his hands.

"It doesn't hurt for him to see the world a little, and we've only come for some light company and fresh air." He said evenly. "Perhaps a little sake – nothing too strong – will be enough. You can tell your friends so too – we're not really here for the other kind of favours you ladies like to bestow."

"Spoilsport." Megumi sighed, but nodded her head. "All right. I understand. I'll be back in a moment – make yourselves at home."

With that she was gone, hips swaying as she walked, and Enishi stared after her, completely flummoxed by the jezebel that had just flitted in and out of their company. At his expression, Shunsui snorted, elbowing him gently in the ribs.

"Staring isn't a Noble trait, Houjou-kun." He murmured, and Enishi reddened, casting his classmate a sheepish look.

"I guess not. Sorry. She took me by surprise."

"Well, she's not the kind of girl you should let take your anything." Shunsui said frankly. "Not unless you know what you're getting involved in. Don't go losing your heart to a girl like that – I'll warn you now that all she'll do is take it and trade it in for whatever she can get."

"That sounds like the voice of experience to me." Juushirou reflected, and Shunsui nodded.

"In one way but not another." He replied lightly. "But Enishi-kun is more honest than I am. And I don't want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt. This is meant to be a casual night out, after all. Nothing more than that."

"She knew you very well, considering you've only been here six weeks or so, though." Juushirou pointed out, and Shunsui smiled.

"She's paid to do so." He said glibly. "I've seen her a couple of times, perhaps. Certainly our acquaintance isn't as strong as she was insinuating. Men do take the girls from here and have their way with them, I know that. But I'm not one of those men. You can stop looking at me that way, Juushirou. Megumi's just another of the local girls who's fallen from grace and become wound up in this system. Or didn't you see her eyes? She's not interested in me or any of you. She's interested in knowing I have coin and will spend it. That's all it's about."

He gestured across the room.

"Most of the girls snared into this place are dependant on one or other sense-enhancing chemical." He added softly. "Even though most of them were outlawed by the Council of Elders for any kind of training use, they still slip through the back channels and into the dregs of society through all kinds of hidden pathways. People like Megumi are easy prey – people with nothing else to fall back on, who need security but don't know how to find it."

"I've heard about those things." Enishi's gaze darkened. "I remember Grandfather raging about it once because there were more leaks and loopholes in the Research Unit's security system than there were scientists working on it. It was originally one of the Urahara-ke's studies into enhancing the spiritual potential of lower Clan members – one of the many ways discarded in their quest to improve the Shinigami system."

"Exactly." Shunsui agreed, his expression suddenly serious. "The effects are addictive, and they wear off far too quickly to be of any use in combat. In the best case scenario, someone using one or other of the chemicals in a one-off situation might heighten their spiritual ability momentarily, but usually they'd be unable to control it and it would generally backfire on them. Long term use created mania, delusions and, eventually, insanity. So a stringent ban was issued – but even so, they still continue to be passed around on the underground market."

"The Noble Houses deal with things of that nature too, then?" Juushirou looked pensive. "I hadn't realised. Sora did say that the Urahara-ke had done a lot of research work into improving the Gotei system and the potential for Shinigami to operate – but I didn't know they'd gone so far as to test out enhancing drugs on members of their family."

"It wasn't just members of their family. All of the Clans had candidates involved at one point or another." Enishi rubbed his temples. "Grandfather railed against it, of course, and Genryuusai-sensei always dismissed it as a potential liability. But there were even members of the Yamamoto-ke who were scarred by it."

"The Endou-ke, also." Hirata murmured, and Juushirou shot him a look of surprise.

"Your family too?"

"Yes."

"But…the Endou-ke are already strong, aren't they? Why would they…?"

"Why else?" Shunsui shrugged. "To get stronger. There's no other reason."

"The Endou value strength over all things." Hirata's tones held a note of bitterness. "Nothing else matters. Nothing at all."

"In the end, those who were hooked in by the drugs had only two choices." Shunsui continued, running his finger absently along the edge of the table as he did so. "Either submit to being stripped of all their _reiryoku_, in order to fully escape the power of the drug – but then that would mean forsaking the Clan and living in ignominy. The other option, of course, was to die insane. Many Clans whose members were tainted wound up executing their kin in order to prevent the shame and scandal being spread around their Districts."

His eyes became sombre.

"That's how Clans operate." He concluded softly. "They take justice into their own hands to protect the family's pride."

"Does that mean your family were also affected?" Juushirou shot him a startled look, and Shunsui nodded.

"My Grandfather and Great Uncle were both caught in the scandal, though it was long before I was born and I only heard about it from Tokutarou-nii when he was going through Family records after he became Clan Leader." He agreed grimly. "My Great Uncle was killed by his surrounding kin, because he had lost his mind. My Grandfather killed himself. All to protect the Clan. And so my Father became head of the Kyouraku."

"It was a nasty business all round." Enishi reflected, and Juushirou nodded.

"It sounds horrendous." He murmured, his gaze flitting across the chamber to where he could see Megumi animatedly talking to one of the male members of staff. "And those girls are tied up in it too, now? They've become victims of it as well?"

"Their _reiryoku _potential isn't as high as those of the Clans, so the full effects probably take longer to manifest." Shunsui responded. "It wasn't designed for rank and file citizens to use, after all. _But _the addictive qualities are just as strong. So, this becomes their world, and they'll do what they have to do to get what they need. It's a tragedy already created by Noble carelessness - I'm not about to deepen their humiliation or their suffering by abusing them further. I come here because I like to cut curfew and I like to have an occasional drink out of the teachers' line of sight. But I haven't sunk to quite those depths. They serve me sake. That's as far as it goes."

Juushirou gazed at him, seeing honesty in his brown eyes, and despite himself, he felt relieved. A rueful smile crossed his lips, and he nodded.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insinuate otherwise." He said sincerely. "But I'm glad you've said so. I believe you, Shunsui-kun. I don't think you're the kind of person to take advantage of someone when they're already down."

He sighed, resting his chin in his hands.

"Maybe I really am naïve." He murmured. "There's so much I really don't know about the Clans after all."

"Some might call that a positive character trait." Shunsui offered him a wry grin. "I wouldn't worry about it, Juushirou-kun. You're really not missing out on anything."

A troubled look crossed Hirata's features at this, and at the sight of it, Juushirou cast him a questioning look.

"Is something the matter, Endou-kun?" He asked softly, and Hirata's frown deepened, but he shook his head.

"No." He said slowly. "I just…I suppose I'm worried…about us being in a place where people are using those drugs. My family would…not like it."

"Mine either." Enishi admitted, and Shunsui sighed.

"You really aren't any fun to sneak out with, either of you." He murmured. "What about you, Juushirou? Would your family mind you being here?"

"Father would probably have wanted to find a way to help them." Juushirou considered this carefully. "Okaasama would be worried for me, though – she's always worried about me, in one way or another."

"But she's your step-mother, isn't she? That's what you said earlier." Enishi frowned, and Juushirou nodded.

"But we're a close family." He replied. "When she married Otousama, she took on me as well. If you asked her, she'd tell you she has eight children. There's never been a difference…in some ways perhaps she worries about me most of all."

"They must be missing you badly, then, Juushirou-kun." Shunsui reflected, and Juushirou thought he caught the faintest hint of wistfulness in his classmate's tones. He shrugged.

"Maybe." He owned. "But just because they're there and I'm here doesn't change us being a close family."

At that moment Megumi returned with the sake and the conversation halted as she cast them all dazzling smiles, placing the _tokkuri_ jug and four ceramic _sakazuki_ cups down on the table with a playful bow.

"Are you in a celebratory mood, Megumi-chan, or are you just hoping for a good tip?" Shunsui eyed the ceramic vessels for a moment, then cast the hostess a glance. She pulled a face at him, putting her hands on her hips mock-indignantly.

"You're always teasing me." She said crossly. "I give you all this attention, too, and even so…"

"You know I'll tip you, regardless." Shunsui winked at her, and though Juushirou had not seen where it had come from, there was suddenly a glittering coin between the other boy's fingers. "Here. For your service, as ever."

"Then that's different." In a moment Megumi's frown melted and she took the coin, smiling coquettishly. "Thank you, Shunsui-kun. You are a gentleman, after all."

"Naturally." Shunsui agreed. "And the usual conditions apply, please."

"Of course." Megumi nodded, and from her expression Juushirou knew an understanding had gone between them. "If you need me, just call."

"Usual conditions?" As the girl disappeared once more, Juushirou frowned. "What are they? Or daren't I ask?"

"Nothing sinister." Shunsui shook his head. "Just, occasionally curfew patrols come into the towns looking for stray Academy students. Megumi knows them all by sight and she lets me know if she sees them prowling about. It's how I don't get caught coming back."

He smiled, gesturing to the sake.

"You might as well sit back and relax. We'll only be in trouble for tonight's trip if Kuchiki-kun decides to tell tales on us. And I'm sure that's beyond his Clan pride to do."

"You really do have this all thought out, don't you?" Enishi observed, and Shunsui laughed, pouring himself a drink and toasting his classmate playfully.

"As you say." He agreed. "Well? Here's to us surviving our time at Yama-jii's Shinigami School, huh?"

"Yama…jii?" Juushirou's eyes almost fell out of his head, and Shunsui grinned, nodding.

"Don't you like it? I think it suits him. The old guy's about six hundred if he's a day, after all."

"You're talking about my kinsman again." Enishi remarked, and Shunsui shrugged.

"It's a term of affection." He said dismissively. "When I met him before term began, he said that Father had once been like a son to him. Which would make him Yamamoto-ojiisama to me, wouldn't it? So, Yama-jii."

"Do you call him that? To his face?" Hirata looked startled, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Of course not." He responded. "I'm not suicidal. It's just a behind the scenes affectionate nickname. That's all. I think it fits."

"It…sort of does." Juushirou admitted, a faint smile touching his lips. "When you think about it. Even though I wouldn't have the guts to call someone as impressive as Genryuusai-sensei anything that familiar…when you say it, Shunsui-kun, I can see it."

"I'll drink to that." Shunsui agreed, draining his cup and reaching for the _tokkuri_ once more. "Well? Drinking alone is lonely – aren't you going to join me? Just one drink to celebrate the start of this wonderful new life we've all been packaged off to begin?"

Juushirou gazed at him for a moment, then, somewhere deep inside of him he felt a faint flicker of rebellion stirring. Slowly he nodded, scooping up one of the _sakazuki_ and holding it out.

"One won't hurt." He said simply, as Hirata's eyes almost fell out of his head. "Just as Shunsui says. To celebrate a new beginning."

Shunsui grinned, obligingly pouring the clear liquid into the vessel, and tentatively Juushirou put it to his lips, sipping it gingerly as he allowed the unfamiliar taste to pass his lips. Despite being the eldest child, he had never been allowed sake at home because his father had worried about its impact on his unpredictable health, and though he had never actively wanted to drink, he had resented not being allowed to. After all, he had often thought, Hiroyuki and Chihiro had both sampled it on certain family occasions even though they were eighteen months younger.

His eyes narrowed slightly at this thought.

_But now I'm out here on my own, and making decisions for myself. Father wouldn't have let me slip out this late, and Okaasama would be concerned about it too. But if they don't know, they can't worry. And I'm not going to be foolish. One drink is enough, just to know what it's like. I'm old and responsible enough not to let myself get drunk._

"Well? What do you think?" Shunsui asked playfully, and Juushirou smiled.

"I like it." He said honestly. "But I'm no expert on types of sake, so I don't know if it's good or it isn't."

"Sometimes the company is as important as the quality of the alcohol when it comes to drinking out." Shunsui said wisely, and Juushirou started, setting the cup down as he considered the truth in his classmate's words.

_After all, isn't that what I'm doing? Just like Kamikura-sensei said –I'm not just here to study. I'm here to make friends, too._

"I guess that counts me in too." Enishi nodded, casting Juushirou a grin as he grabbed his own _sakazuki_ in his thick fingers. "Well, Endou-kun? Are you going to sit this one out, or…?"

Hirata hesitated, then tentatively reached thin, pale fingers for the remaining vessel.

"If Ukitake-kun thinks it's okay…" He murmured, but before he could finish his sentence, Megumi descended upon them once more, anxiety in her blue eyes. At her expression Shunsui frowned, shaking his head in frustrated resignation.

"Trouble?" He asked, and Megumi nodded.

"Kyouko said she saw them, just entering the textile quarter." She said breathlessly. "She ran all the way here because she knew I'd want to know. If you want to escape them, Shunsui-kun – you better go now."

"And we've barely even been here a moment." Shunsui sighed. "I suppose it can't be helped. Whose patrol is it, Megumi-chan?"

"Aitori Hideaki." Megumi's brow wrinkled with a look of clear dislike.

"Aitori-sensei?" Enishi's eyes widened, and Shunsui frowned.

"Aitori? You're sure?"

"Positive." Megumi grimaced. "He spends enough of his own time in and out of this town that his face is familiar to most of us. Besides, he still owes me two gold coins."

She tossed her head.

"I don't forget men who pay me and I don't forget those who don't."

Despite himself, Shunsui grinned.

"Then we'll be going." He said frankly, casting Juushirou a glance as he did so. "Keep him busy if you can, Megumi-chan, and I'll pay you double the tally next time in recompense."

"Double?" Megumi's eyes widened eagerly, and as as Shunsui nodded, she grinned, scampering across the chamber to the door in order to do his bidding.

"Why the hurry?" Enishi looked foxed. "Aitori-sensei's not as strict as Kazoe-sensei or as violent as Minabe-sensei. Surely it could be worse?"

"From _that _perspective, maybe." Shunsui said grimly. "We won't get a flogging for it, sure enough. But from another, not. Because even if the rest of us might use our Clan connections to talk our way out of trouble with that guy, _Juushirou_ won't be so lucky."

"Shunsui?"

Juushirou frowned, and Shunsui nodded.

"You know it as well as I do." He said frankly. "He's Clan to the core and he doesn't approve of Yama-jii's experiment. So I'm not going to get you into trouble, Juushirou-kun. This was my idea, after all – I'm not going to let him drag you down for it."

Juushirou's eyes clouded, but he nodded, even as his classmate grabbed him by the wrist

"Playtime's over. We're going back." Shunsui cast Enishi and Hirata a glance. "And Juushirou, I'm serious – keep your reiatsu down and keep that snowy head of yours out of sight. All right? You know that guy really doesn't like you – let's not give him any more reasons, okay?"

"Kyouraku's right." Enishi gave his friend a little shove in the direction of the door. "It's easy to forget you're not like us, when we're out like this, but _he_ won't forget it as easily as that. If he catches you here you'll be in for it big time."

"Then I guess we're going back to school." Despite himself, Juushirou found he was disappointed to be leaving so soon, but he nodded, resignation in his hazel eyes. "I'm sorry."

Shunsui snorted.

"It's not your fault that Aitori's a bigoted Shihouin-born idiot." He said categorically. "But we don't have time to argue about it now. Move, okay? When we're back at school, we can discuss it all you want – but if you don't want to be in trouble come the morning, we're leaving _now_!"

-----------------------

**Author's Note: OC Name Kanji (Part Two)**

It's the girls' turn!

**~ Shiba Sora** 志波空

The kanji for 'Shiba' means 'resolve' (shi) and 'wave' (ba). I wonder about that connection to Kaien's blade :P

Sora means 'sky'. It's also the first kanji in Kuukaku's name, hence my reason for using it.

**~Edogawa Mitsuki** 江戸川美月

Edogawa doesn't have any particularly significant meaning. The kanji means 'brook', 'door' and 'river' respectively.

Mitsuki uses the kanji for beauty (mi) and moon (tsuki). So her name means beautiful moon.

~**Shikibu Naoko** 色部直子

Again, Shikibu wasn't chosen for it's kanji but for its vintage, since there's a mediaeval writer in Japanese literature called Shikibu Murasaki. The kanji mean colour (shiki) and section (bu).

Naoko uses the kanji for heal or fix "nao" and child "ko". So her name means Healing Child. She's an Unohana, after all :)


	6. Loyalty

**Chapter Five: Loyalty**

"Shihouin-kun really didn't come back last night."

Juushirou sat down on his bed, stifling a yawn as he ran his fingers pensively through his short white hair. It was just after dawn the next morning and the rising bell had clanged through the aging building only a short while earlier. It had seemed like a very short sleep, Juushirou had realised, for they had had to take a long route back to the school to avoid all contact with Aitori's patrol, and so had not reached the dorm until the early hours of the morning. Yet even though they had had to scramble and claw their way back in through the open dorm window, Juushirou found he did not regret their adventure.

_I only hope I won't fall asleep in class, that's all. I'm not used to functioning on quite so little sleep.  
_  
He gazed across at the empty bunk opposite, pursing his lips as he registered it hadn't been slept in. "I suppose you were right in the end, Shunsui-kun - he really did end up spending the night with family."

"I told you so." Shunsui put in sleepily from his bed, rolling over to face his classmate. "That's how the Clans work. He'll be back this morning though, no doubt."

"I am rather surprised to see _you_ all here this morning, in fact." Ryuu put in at that moment, tying the _obi_ of his uniform firmly as he fixed them all with a haughty, quizzical glance. "Since I found myself quite alone in the dorm when I returned from the bath-house last evening."

"I guess it's magic." Shunsui sat up, stretching his arms over his head, and Ryuu frowned, shaking his head.

"It's all very well if you want to break curfew rules and get yourself into trouble." He said reproachfully. "But at least be honourable enough not to lie about it."

"Are you going to tell anyone, Kuchiki?" Enishi asked anxiously, and Ryuu snorted, shaking his head.

"I don't tell tales, no matter what the provocation." He said archly. "I wasn't raised to such low habits. But you should take care, all of you. They may not have caught you last night, but it doesn't mean they won't catch up with you if you persist in infringing the rules."

"Thank you for not telling the staff, Kuchiki-kun." Juushirou offered him a rueful smile.

"_You _are the one I am most surprised at." Ryuu admitted, meeting Ukitake's gaze with an even one of his own. "Considering your ill-health yesterday morning. Besides, you don't seem like the kind of individual who easily breaks rules."

"It was a bit of a last minute thing." Juushirou cast Shunsui a sidelong glance, then, "And I was feeling better by then. It was just a brief spell, after all - and I'd been cooped up away from everyone for the whole afternoon because of it. I needed some air and a change of scene. That's all."

He pulled a graphic face.

"There's nothing I hate more than forced convalescence." He added darkly. "I wish they'd understand that I know my body better than they do, and I don't need them to take this test or that or think they know what's best for me."

"I s'pose if you were ill in the past, someone told Genryuusai-sensei about it and he's covering his bases." Enishi suggested. "It's not like they're doing it on purpose to annoy you, Ukitake. And you're fine now, right? So even if you had a funny turn yesterday, it's no big deal. You said when you were ill you could barely leave the house - right? But last night you climbed out of a window, ran across town and..."

He faltered, as he caught Shunsui's eye, and Juushirou sighed, shaking his head.

"I think Kuchiki-kun would probably rather not know details of something he's keeping a secret for us." He said frankly. "I understand what you're saying, Houjou-kun, but..."

"Do you think any of the teachers do know?" Hirata asked anxiously, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Nope. If they did, they'd have got us for sure." He said cheerfully. "It's fine, Hirata-kun. So long as you don't tell anyone outside of this room, noone is going to know. And besides, there's no harm in sneaking out once or twice. We're healthy young men and we're expected to learn about the world in one way or another - right?"

"It goes without saying, then, that you were the ringleader in this little debacle, Kyouraku." Ryuu reflected thoughtfully. "I am somehow unsurprised."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"However, you may come to regret it." He added. "Today we have an assessment in Kazoe-sensei's Kidou Theory class...and this afternoon a similar review in Aitori-sensei's Hohou Theory one. If you are falling asleep at your desks, you are unlikely to score well. Are you?"

"That's fine by me." Shunsui said dismissively, dropping back against his pillows and pulling his blanket up over his shoulders once more. "Kazoe-sensei doesn't expect to see me in his morning lessons, and I'm not going to create an upset by turning up to them for once. I may see you for lunch - or this afternoon, if I'm feeling like listening to Aitori's nasal voice explaining why none of us are even vaguely ready to learn practical Shunpo."

"You don't skip Minabe-sensei or Genryuusai-sensei's classes half as much as you do Kidou and Hohou." Juushirou reflected. "Kazoe-sensei's not a pushover, you know - he won't let it go if you keep it up."

"He can't scold me if he can't find me." Shunsui said sleepily. "And I'm one step ahead of him so far. It's fine, Juushirou-kun. I'll do education my way, and you do it yours."

He yawned, closing his eyes.

"I'll see you later."

"The breakfast bell will ring shortly." Ryuu observed. "No doubt I will see all of you in class."

With that he was gone, and Juushirou sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I'd forgotten we had assessments." He admitted. "Oh well. I think I can remember most things, with any luck - I'll just have to do my best."

"You've been reading Kazoe-sensei's tome, though, haven't you?" Enishi asked, and Juushirou nodded.

"I've read four or five chapters so far." He agreed. "But I haven't covered the most recent stuff we've studied yet. And he did say that if we don't get an acceptable grade on this assessment, we won't be beginning practical Kidou work in a week's time. Shunsui, you really ought to turn up to the class today. Otherwise you're effectively cutting yourself out of practical Kidou too, and at that rate..."

"I'm not as bothered about it as you are." Shunsui assured him drowsily. "So don't worry so much about me. Go have breakfast, all of you, and leave me to sleep. I don't care overly about Kidou, so you needn't concern yourself. I'm not interested in learning to fight, since I've no intention of using it."

"I guess that's just how it is, then." Enishi shrugged his shoulders, as the bell clanged out across the grounds. "We should go to breakfast. Sweet dreams, Kyouraku. Don't get caught off guard, all right?"

There was no reply, and Juushirou shook his head slowly.

"I don't know how he can do that." He murmured, as they made their way down the narrow hallway to the winding stairs that led to the main Dining Hall, the sound of student voices already audible as they joined their fellows from other parts of the school. "He doesn't care, does he? He really doesn't mind whether he passes or fails."

"But if he fails, won't he be sent home?" Hirata asked anxiously, and Juushirou shrugged.

"Sora seemed to think that he'd got in here because of his brother twisting Genryuusai-sensei's arm." He reflected. "But somehow...I don't know. Genryuusai-sensei doesn't seem like the kind of teacher who'd take anyone on if he didnt think they had potential. Whatever the circumstances of his coming here, Shunsui doesn't seem to be particularly stupid, either. So maybe that's it. But even so...I don't know, Endou-kun. I'm not sure what happens if you skip enough classes and fail enough assessments."

"Is that really true?" Enishi looked surprised. "That Kyouraku only got into the Academy because his brother asked Genryuusai-sensei nicely?"

"That's what Sora said." Juushirou shrugged. "I suppose she's as well placed to know as anyone, too. She's known Shunsui longer than any of us have. And even in the short time we've known him - do you see him as the type to sit down and take an exam?"

"Definitely not." Enishi said firmly. "I see your point."

He looked sheepish.

"But I still think that if he's doing that, no matter how smart he is or isn't, he'll rank below me and I won't be bottom in the assessment." He confessed. "I'm not good at Kidou - I understand bits of it, but not enough to pass muster with Kazoe-sensei. And even if he gave me a whole library to read, I wouldn't understand what he wanted me to know."

"I like Kidou." Juushirou looked surprised. "I find it really interesting. Yesterday, when I was stuck in the Healing Bay for however many hours, they leant me a book from their shelves there and I was reading about some of the different types of spells you can cast."

He smiled.

"Some of them sound really beautiful and dramatic." He added. "There's one called '_Byakurai'_ which involves firing white lightning into the air, and..."

"Lightning?" Enishi looked apprehensive. "I hope we're not going to be doing that from the off. I'll zap the whole school building and probably some of you before I get it down."

"I doubt it." Despite himself, Juushirou laughed, shaking his head. "I don't think it's a beginner spell...but I'm looking forward to learning it."

"I don't like storms." Hirata murmured, and Juushirou eyed him in surprise.

"Really? Why not?"

"Because they're loud and frightening." Hirata shrugged. "Especially at night."

"There was a storm the night I was born." Juushirou reflected. "People have always talked about it, and how I slept right through it. Maybe it's that reason I feel such a connection to storms - or maybe it's because my Mother's name was 'Raiko'. My old tutor thought that her native power was probably in tune with lightning, so maybe mine is, too. Either way, I've always loved storms. They split the sky so beautifully. And when it's dark and muggy out, and you can't see anything for the haze, the lightning makes the whole of the heavens glow. It's nothing to be scared of, Endou-kun. It's just a guiding flash of light in the storm's darkness. Nothing else."

"You really do like storms, don't you?" Enishi eyed him in amusement, and Juushirou nodded.

"I really do." He agreed. "But a lot of my siblings don't. So maybe it's also that I associate stormy nights with being surrounded by the younger members of my family huddled in my room waiting for the bad weather to pass. I end up reading to them, or telling them stories, so they're not afraid."

He pushed back the door of the Dining Hall.

"Do you think Kuchiki-kun was a little cold this morning?" He added, changing the subject as he caught sight of his aloof classmate sitting alone at one of the tables. "He seemed out of sorts to me."

"Yesterday morning he didn't even look at you, much less speak to you." Enishi pointed out. "I'd say that's evidence of a definite thaw - not the other way around."

"Mm, that's not what I meant." Juushirou shook his head. "After our fight in Ouyoudou, we came to a peace agreement, I think, and started over. But he just...it was almost as though..."

"Maybe he wanted to come out with us, too." Hirata suggested softly, and Enishi snorted.

"Kuchiki? Are you serious, Endou? Can you see him clambering out of that window?"

"No, Endou-kun's right. It was like that." Juushirou's eyes narrowed. "Not that he wanted to come, but he resented being left out. It's occurred to me that the Kuchiki-ke have a lot of influence. But...Kuchiki-kun doesn't easily make friends. Does he?"

"Make...friends?" Enishi blinked, and Juushirou nodded.

"Last night was the first time I've ever done anything with people outside of my family, and I liked it." He said honestly, offering the tall boy a grin. "I feel like I'm making friends for the first time and having them makes school a lot less of a frightening challenge to face. Don't you think so? Even though Aitori-sensei disapproves of me, and others may look down on me - I'm all right with that fact. Because I don't feel like I'm doing it on my own, if that makes sense."

He gestured to his companions.

"I spend most of my time with one or other of you two." He continued, scooping up a tray and beginning to choose his breakfast with a critical eye. "And I feel that we have become friends. Last night, Shunsui was with us too - and somehow, even if he's hard to read, spending time in his company is easy. He treats people like they're his friends on a whim, after all. So last night had a good feeling about it. But this morning...Kuchiki-kun was outside of that. And while I can't see him climbing down the wall or running through the town like we did - I think he was a bit hurt at being ignored."

Hirata pursed his lips.

"Kuchiki-kun doesn't like Shihouin-kun, and Shihouin-kun doesn't like Kuchiki-kun." He murmured. "But neither of them are easy people to talk to."

"Shihouin doesn't seem bothered about friends." Enishi reflected. "But...I dunno. I hadn't thought of it, but maybe you're right. About Kuchiki. I mean, he's stiff as if a broom's been shoved up his backside, to be blunt about it. But perhaps...he did seem kinda like that, this morning."

He grinned.

"But then, _you're_ the reason the three of us have started spending so much time together, Ukitake." He added, giving Juushirou a playful nudge and almost causing him to spill his tea. "Most of the Clansfolk see me as clumsy, tactless and awkward, so they think it's less socially suicidal if they don't spend too much time in my company. And Endou's come out of his shell since you started looking out for him. Right, Endou?"

"I...right." Hirata reddened furiously, and Juushirou laughed.

"Well, if that's true, I'm glad it worked out that way." He said matter-of-factly. "Perhaps this is more of my Seireitei naivety, but I don't try and make friends with people because of their social suitability. I don't understand all of the rules regarding that and I'm not going to try to. I like you both. So I want you to be my friends. That's all. No ulterior motive, no hidden agenda. Just that."

"That's why it's easy to be friends with you, then, I suppose." Enishi said philosophically.

He shrugged.

"Maybe we should go and eat breakfast with Kuchiki, however." He added. "That guy's a ton more complicated and full of agendas and motives and whatever else. But he looks kinda pathetic on his own, and it's not like there are fixed seating arrangements at breakfast like there are at dinner."

"Endou-kun? What do you think?" Juushirou cast the younger boy a questioning look. "Do you mind if we eat breakfast with Kuchiki-kun?"

"If you think we should, Ukitake-kun, I don't mind." Hirata assured him, and Juushirou smiled.

"Then it's decided." He said frankly. "Let's go."

He led the way across the busy hall, placing his tray purposely down opposite Ryuu's and casting him a grin as his startled classmate stared at him.

"Ukitake?"

"You don't mind, do you?" Juushirou asked evenly. "There's not a lot of space...unless you're waiting for someone...?"

"I don't mind." Ryuu shook his head, shrugging his shoulders dismissively. "As you can see, there's noone else using this particular table."

"That's good enough for me." Enishi settled himself next to Ryuu with a smile, and after a moment of hesitation, Hirata slipped down beside Juushirou, casting him a glance as if wondering whether or not he should speak.

"Kyouraku didn't bother to get up this morning, I see." Ryuu observed, and Juushirou shook his head.

"He doesn't seem to care about the assessment or Kazoe-sensei's classes." He said with a helpless shrug. "So there's not much to be done about it."

"Mm. I suppose not." Ryuu frowned, irritation in his grey eyes. "Though his is a waste of a place if he isn't going to take it seriously. Particularly considering his position."

"His position?" Enishi looked blank, and Ryuu nodded.

"Yes." He agreed. "Unlike you or I, Houjou, Kyouraku is the current heir to his Clan's leadership. His older brother Tokutarou-dono holds power there currently - but he is young yet and has not married. Therefore he has no offspring and Kyouraku is effectively the next in line."

"But if Tokutarou-dono is young, surely Shunsui won't be called on to do anything?" Juushirou looked surprised. "I knew his brother was Head, but surely..."

"There's never any guarantee of anything, within the Clans." Ryuu said evenly. "There are many causes of death among the Nobility, Ukitake. You won't understand this yet, but very few Noble leaders die of old age."

"Then...what do they die of?" Juushirou looked bewildered. "Is there a lot of sickness in the Clan houses, or...?"

"Not generally, no." Ryuu shook his head. "You truly don't understand the Noble world at all, do you?"

He cast Hirata a glance, and the younger boy flinched at the sudden attention.

"You should have Endou explain it to you, since of all Clans his has suffered the most losses over the course of the last century." He said evenly. "Isn't that correct, Endou?"

"Endou-kun?" Juushirou cast Hirata a surprised look, and Hirata nodded slowly.

"Kuchiki-kun means that many Clansman die at the hands of their kin, in fights for honour or power." He said softly. "The Endou-ke are particularly ruthless in that regard. Unwanted kin is easy to remove, after all - but once the precedent is set, it's hard to remove. My Grandfather is the current head of the Endou-ke and none would be foolish enough to raise a sword to him in any circumstances. But Kuchiki-kun is right. There have been many surrounding him who have fought for positions of influence and lost their lives because of it."

"Really?" Juushirou looked horrified, and Hirata frowned.

"Yes." He murmured. "But it's not unusual. All of the Clans...this has happened at some time or other."

"Even the Yamamoto-ke's guilty of it, though these days, thanks to Genryuusai-sensei's influence, there are far less fights of that nature amongst my kinsfolk." Enishi said gravely. Kuchiki nodded.

"Mine also consider honour a greater burden to protect than one's own life, and we are all trained as such." He agreed, in his aloof, cultured tones. "But even the Kyouraku-ke aren't immune to such things. I'm sure, if you spoke to Kyouraku, he'd tell you as much himself."

"Shunsui's family too?" Juushirou frowned. "It's hard to imagine that, judging by Shunsui. I mean, if _he's_ the heir to his Clan..."

"That's why you're naive." Ryuu offered a slight, faintly condescending smile. "Such things do not happen, then, in your part of Seireitei?"

"No." Juushirou shook his head. "My family aren't the poorest in Sixth District, Kuchiki-kun - but we're a long way from your level and if the Clans are that way, I'm glad of it, too. My family are close and have always been that way - protecting that is more important to me than money or pride or honour or any of those things."

"There's nothing wrong with that." Enishi reflected, and Ryuu shook his head.

"No, so long as such idealistic thinking does not get you killed foolishly." He murmured. "With the potential you clearly have, Ukitake, you cannot use ignorance as a shield. You will have to understand these things, else they will kill you before you reach your full strength."

"You like being melodramatic, don't you?" Juushirou sighed, resting his chin in his hands. Somehow, he realised, his good mood from the previous night had faded in light of his classmate's cool, cryptic words, and he shook his head as if to clear it. "I didn't come here to get pulled into Clan intrigue and I'm twice as sure of that fact now. If people want to like or hate me, approve or disapprove of me, that's fine with me. It's their choice, after all. All I can do is the best I can. The rest...I don't want any part of. Betrayal doesn't sit well with me - I'm not going to become involved in things like that."

Ryuu eyed him long and hard for a moment. Then he sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"At least take it, then, as a warning - even if you mean to do nothing about it." He said softly. "Those born Clan are born Clan. They do not become it as they grow. Their values and beliefs are carved into the very core of their soul from the moment they take their first breaths. If you think that you can either change or ignore such things, you will not survive long in this world. And if Genryuusai-sensei sees potential in you, that would be a waste."

A faint smile touched his lips, but Juushirou could see the sadness in his grey eyes.

"Take it as one Kuchiki to the kin of another." He said lightly. "And do not forget it. Not all around you are young men and women looking to simply learn. Just because _you_ can be trusted does not mean everyone else can."

He set aside his chopsticks, sipping the last of his tea.

"You should eat up, too." he added. "Kazoe-sensei does not approve of lateness to his class, and the bell will go shortly."

Juushirou glanced at his meal, realising that in the conversation he had more or less lost his appetite.

"I won't forget what you've said." He responded at length. "Because I realise you mean it, Kuchiki-kun, and you think it's something I should know. But I'm also determined not to get involved in Noble battles over honour or pride. I'm not Clan. Whether I've diluted Clan blood or otherwise is irrelevant. I'm from Seireitei and I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not a threat to the Noble houses. I don't want to infiltrate them. I want to do what I can as myself."

"And that's precisely why you're a threat to them." Ryuu told him softly. "But if that's how you feel, there's no more to be said."

He got to his feet, bowing his head properly to his companions, then,

"In class, then. Good morning."

And scooping up his tray, he was gone.

"Maybe he just likes being on his own after all." After a moment of silence, Enishi was the first to speak and Juushirou grimaced, rubbing his temples.

"No...I think he was trying to tell me something he thought I should know." He murmured. "Yesterday, after our fight, we talked a lot. And I don't think...he's proud but he's honest and I don't think he's unkind. But I really would rather not know about the internal struggles of the Clans. I mean what I say. I'm not trying to be a part of it. What was he meaning? That I'm trusting people I shouldn't trust in? I don't understand."

Hirata frowned.

"Probably he means me." He murmured. "Since he spoke so particularly of the Endou-ke."

"You?" Juushirou was startled, staring at the younger boy in surprise. "Why would he think badly of you?"

"It's what Endou said. It's about the Clan, not one person particularly." Enishi shook his head. "It defines you in one way, especially if you carry the Clan name. The Endou-ke are known for being ruthless and violent in their approach to things. That's all."

"But Endou-kun's Endou-kun. He's not his whole Clan." Despite himself Juushirou grinned. "Surely?"

A faint smile touched Hirata's lips, although his eyes were still clouded with consternation as he nodded his head.

"I'm not my Clan." He said softly. "I'm just Hirata."

"That's what I thought." Juushirou clapped a friendly hand down on the young boy's thin arm as the class bell rang out through the buildings. "Well? We should do as he said, and make sure we're not late. I'm not sure I'm ready for any kind of assessment after last night and the conversation we just had, but I'll give it my best."

"We should hurry, in that case." Enishi decided. "Kazoe-sensei might be more lenient on our scores if we're at least there before he arrives."

All but Shunsui and Kai were already present by the time the three boys reached the classroom, but there was no sign of the particular Kidou teacher and, exchanging a relieved grin with his companions, Juushirou moved to take his usual seat. As he did so, Sora crossed the room towards him, banging her hands down with a thump on his desk and he stared up at her, confused.

"Sora?"

"Where's Shunsui?" Clearly the girl was in no mood for niceties, anxiety and annoyance glittering in her emerald eyes, and Juushirou's brows knitted together as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Still asleep, I think. Why?"

"That idiot! Doesn't he know we have an assessment today?"

"Yes, he knows." Juushirou nodded. "Kuchiki-kun reminded us all before breakfast. But he didn't seem that worried about it - and he went back to sleep."

Sora sighed, drumming her fingers agitatedly on the desk, then,

"Couldn't you have dragged him here by force?"

"Why would I do that?" Juushirou stared. "Sora, what's the matter? Shunsui always skips this class. Why are you so worried about it this time?"

"Mitsuki heard a conversation between teachers as we came down to the classroom this morning." Sora bit her lip. "Kazoe-sensei's bad enough, but it's not just a case of that. Genryuusai-sensei's doing the rounds this morning and checking up on classes during assessments. And if he discovers Shunsui's a persistant class-skipper...what do you think's going to happen?"

"Genryuusai-sensei?" Despite himself, Juushirou's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Sora nodded impatiently. "Mitsuki heard it, and she's usually right when she says something like that. Okaasama's going to go crazy at me if she finds out I've let Shunsui skive classes, and..."

"It's not your fault." Juushirou shook his head. "You can't force him to do anything, and if he doesn't leave the boys' dorm, you can't go and get him. Besides, Shihouin-kun isn't here either, yet. Shunsui's not the only one who's missing this morning."

"But Shihouin had a visitor from home yesterday." Sora sighed. "So if he's late, no doubt his Clan will be able to write his absence note and there won't be any problems."

"Take your seats, everybody. Enough chatter, there's not time."

Kazoe's voice cut through the conversation at that moment, and, still muttering curses, Sora headed to her own desk as the teacher swept into the room. As the girl had rightly surmised, he wasn't alone, and despite himself Juushirou frowned as he took in the illustrious head of the school himself.

Genryuusai-sensei was a kind individual and a great teacher. But he was also a fearsome figure who nobody in their right mind would choose to defy.

Kazoe's gaze drifted across the class, a faint look of irritation crossing his expression.

"Seven of you." he said, evidently displeased. "Am I to assume that Kyouraku still has no intention of taking this class seriously? And where's Shihouin? It's unlike him to be delayed."

"I'm here, sensei." At that moment a breathless Kai pushed back the door, pausing to bow apologetically towards the two teachers. "I'm sorry that I'm late. I was with my Father and brother for breakfast and though I returned here in time, I had a meeting with Aitori-sensei and so was delayed."

"If you were with Aitori, I suppose that excuses you." Kazoe flicked his wooden stick towards the empty seat behind Ukitake's. "Take your place, Shihouin. The assessment has not yet begun - and I'll overlook your lateness this once."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." Kai bowed again, hurrying to do his bidding, and a silence fell over the classroom as Genryuusai stepped forward.

"Will someone please clarify the whereabouts of Kyouraku Shunsui?" He asked softly, his tones level and barely above normal pitch, yet there was a meaning injected into it that struck fear through Juushirou's young heart. He bit his lip, wishing that for once his indolent classmate had chosen to attend his morning lesson, for somehow he knew it would be trouble. Yet he had no mind to be telling tales, and from the silence that ensued, it seemed that none of the others were inclined that way, either.

At the lack of response, Genryuusai frowned.

"I see." He said quietly. "And do you think, then, that it benefits either you or him, if you allow him to continue getting away with skipping classes?"

At that moment, Juushirou knew Genryuusai's presence was not accidental, and that Kazoe, frustrated with trying to find the boy himself, had called on his Principal for assistance.

More silence, and Genryuusai pursed his lips.

"I have no compunction about punishing all of Class One, if that's the case." He continued, and Juushirou could hear the warning note in the old man's tones. "Whether you think 'tale telling' is dishonourable, perhaps you'll consider that protecting someone who is lying and cheating the staff here and insulting their dedication and hard work as equally undesirable. You are not here to learn your characters or the history of Seireitei. You are here to learn how to make a difference and, possibly, save this world. In light of that, do you still wish to protect one whose behaviour mocks that?"

There was a pause, then Kai slowly raised his hand.

"Sensei..." He began, then paused, as Sora cast him a dark look. Genryuusai's brows twitched together, and he held out his hand, indicating for Kai to stand up.

"Yes, Shihouin Kai?" He asked. "Speak, if you have something you think I should know."

"I don't know where Kyouraku is this morning, because I've not been to the dorm since yesterday." Kai turned his head so that his back was to Sora, facing the teacher with resolution in his golden eyes. "But on other occasions, he's simply slept in and chosen not to come to class."

"I see." Genryuusai said softly. "And none of you thought to do anything about it?"

"Ukitake tried to raise him for the first few times." Ryuu got to his feet now, and Juushirou shot him a startled look, aware that Kai was staring at the boy in much the same disbelieving way. "But it's impossible to do, sensei. He sleeps like the dead, and if he doesn't want to move, he won't."

"Juushirou, is this true?" Genryuusai's gaze slipped across the room, and at the sudden, informal use of his first name, Juushirou swallowed, scrambling awkwardly to his feet.

"I...I...I..."

He faltered, and Genryuusai frowned, moving across the room and placing his hands gently on the boy's shoulders.

"What is it?" he asked quietly. "Are you wanting to protect him?"

Juushirou swallowed hard, then met the teacher's gaze bravely.

"I have tried to wake Shunsui, in the past, when he's been sleeping, sensei." He said at length. "But that's all."

"But he was in the dorm, when you left this morning?"

Juushirou bit his lip, and Genryuusai sighed, releasing his grasp.

"I don't know whether to punish you all for protecting someone who's breaking rules, or to praise you for your loyalty to your classmate." He said at length, stepping away from Juushirou's desk and turning back towards Kazoe with a frown.

"Continue with your assessment, Kazoe." He instructed. "I will go to the boys' dorm myself and ascertain what the students don't seem able to tell me. You needn't worry. I will speak to Shunsui directly...and no doubt this matter will be resolved."

With that he was gone, and Juushirou swallowed hard, meeting Enishi's equally apprehensive gaze across the classroom.

_Even Shunsui can't escape from Genryuusai-sensei, surely? There's going to be big trouble...but what if he's not there? If he isn't, there'll be even bigger trouble...Shunsui, why couldn't you come to class this morning? Even facing Kazoe-sensei's stick is probably easier than whatever Genryuusai-sensei will have to say!_

"Enough, all of you." Kazoe held up his free hand, as a low murmur of chatter began to buzz across the room. "Class has begun, and the eight of you who are here will be assessed just as you were warned. I will not be lenient on your grades based on this morning's disturbance or on any other matter, so I want all your concentration on the subject at hand. A fail on this will mean extra classes and a re-take at the end of the semester - I will not entertain the idea of any incompetents moving on to practical Kidou."

He scooped up the pile of paper, moving between the rows and dumping down a pile on each student's desk.

"The questions will be on the board. You may not talk and you will not leave her till you have answered every question." He added coolly. "If that makes you late for whatever's next, that'll be your problem to explain. Messy submissions will be docked marks - I expect to be able to read your answers without having to squint at the kanji you've chosen to use! Enough time has been wasted already - take your brushes and prepare to begin!"

* * *

Six weeks of term, and things were beginning to gather speed.

Genryuusai paused outside the door to the boy's dorm, hesitating for a moment as he stretched out his senses into the room beyond. He could feel the gentle, vibrating rhythm of Shunsui's reiatsu as it drowsed comfortably in sleep, and he frowned, reflecting for a moment on the best way to deal with the situation.

If it had been one like Enishi, he reflected ruefully, it would have been a far easier matter to deal with. Quick, firm punishment for boys as straight-forward as that were generally the best course of action to take. Yet even in the brief few minutes they had spoken at the Kyouraku estate, Genryuusai had realised that there was nothing straight-forward about Shunsui. And, when they had been alone, Tokutarou had added further information which had strengthened his opinion even more.

"He does as he likes and he frustrates me constantly." Tokutarou had said frankly, a mixture of hope and desperation in his dark eyes. "But I don't think that he's happy that way, Sensei. I don't know, exactly, whether this is the right or the wrong course of action to take. But what I do know is that if he continues this way, he'll break down the way Father did. And even though he frustrates me – I don't want that. He's my brother, after all. And I'm fond of him, despite it all."

Genryuusai's brows twitched together thoughtfully at this memory, and he slowly slid the door of the dormitory back. In all his years of instructing students in the arts of Shinigami life, he had encountered a couple like Shunsui on the way. But in those few words of Tokutarou's, he had realised that though it was the older brother who more bore Matsuhara's likeness in his face, the younger boy was the one who carried his Father's heart.

That thing alone, however, had reassured Genryuusai somewhat. Despite his end, Matsuhara had been a quick and adept student, and his weaknesses had never spilled out of control before he had become head of the Clan and therefore out of Genryuusai's company and guidance. Genryuusai had been certain when he had agreed to Shunsui's enrolment that he would face similar challenges with the boy as he had faced before. But equally, he had been certain they were things he could overcome.

Six weeks in, and it seemed that this was the first of those times.

Shunsui was curled up under his blanket, apparently fast asleep, but as the teacher approached, he stirred, opening his eyes sleepily as though his sharp senses had detected even the suppressed energy of Genryuusai's presence. The next instant he was wide awake, sitting hurriedly upright as he registered who had come into his chamber, and at his shock, Genryuusai nodded.

"I think this isn't where you're meant to be, is it, Shunsui?" He asked softly, and Shunsui froze, guilt in his brown eyes. There was a moment of silence, then he swallowed hard, raising his gaze bravely.

"No, sensei." He admitted honestly. "I should be in Kidou class."

"I see." Genryuusai pursed his lips. "And yet you appear to be here, after all, don't you?"

"Y..yes, sensei."

"I suppose you have a good reason for not attending Kazoe-sensei's class?" Genryuusai asked softly. "He's been quite concerned at your lack of attendance – particularly since you seem capable of attending _my_ classes on time."

Shunsui reddened, but although he knew he was caught, he didn't lie. Instead he slowly shook his head.

"No, sensei." He confessed. "There's no good reason. I just…am not really interested in learning Kidou. That's all."

"I see." Genryuusai tilted his head on one side, fingering his beard thoughtfully. "And did you spare a moment to consider that maybe Kazoe-sensei doesn't particularly relish teaching you, either?"

"S…sensei?" Shunsui stared, and Genryuusai nodded.

"You aren't here to pick and choose what you do." He said, his eyes glittering as he made sure his student understood his words. "You're here to learn the honourable ways of the Shinigami. For the sake of Seireitei, you're here. Do you realise that yourself?"

At that Shunsui's eyes darkened, and he shook his head.

"I'm not really cut out to be a Shinigami, and I don't really find it honourable." He said quietly. "So I don't want to learn those things, sensei. If Tokutarou-nii wants there to be a Kyouraku Shinigami so badly, he's the one who should be taking the _haori._ I'm not the kind of person who should be forced into that position, and teaching me to do something I've no aptitude for is a waste of time. So if I don't go to Kazoe-sensei's classes, I'm saving him the burden of trying to make me learn something I'm never going to use."

"Is that what you think?"

"Yes sir." Despite the fear in his eyes, Shunsui met the old man's gaze, and Genryuusai sighed.

"Then listen to me." He said quietly. "Your future and your Clan are your business. However, your present is mine. While you are here, you will follow the rules that your fellows do. It isn't just Kazoe's class you've been taking time out from – Aitori-sensei has also mentioned your absence in Hohou Theory classes as well. In six weeks you've clocked up an absentee time greater than most students manage in the whole of their time here. You may consider that an achievement, but I consider it a criminal waste of time and talent."

His eyes narrowed.

"I know the kind of aimless lifestyle you were living before you came here." He murmured. "And I can sense it now, Shunsui, the hint of alcohol in your aura even though your eyes are perfectly clear and sober. You can't hide things from me so easily as you might hide them from the other teachers. More than that, though, I sensed the same in the aura of one of your classmates this morning, also – and from the stricken look in your eyes, you know which one I mean. I won't tolerate the corruption of other students to your indolent way of thinking. You are here to learn. Not to teach. Is that understood?"

Shunsui was speechless, and Genryuusai knew he had hit home.

"If you are found sneaking out of this establishment on any further occasion, I will be forced to take severe action against you…and any student you persuade to join you." He murmured. "There are those in First Year who are not as aware of the undertones of this world as you are and for the meantime I should like them to stay that way. For that reason, you'll understand why I expect you to remain within the school grounds until further notice. If you cannot be trusted to apply to visit the local towns on your free day in the proper manner, you will not be permitted to leave here at all."

He paused, letting this sink in, then,

"As for your attendance, your rudeness to Kazoe-sensei is unforgivable in a Noble born son." He added. "Aitori-sensei too has been gravely insulted. I think you should probably apologise to them for it, and accept whatever punishment they mete out. Don't you?"

Shunsui bit his lip, then,

"Are _you_…going to punish…anyone?" He murmured, all of his usual swagger gone in the light of Genryuusai's matter-of-fact scolding, and though he did not mention names, Genryuusai's gaze softened slightly. The question was not asked in the hope of extracting himself from trouble, but for the benefit of another, and he sighed, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"You are Matsuhara's son to the core." He murmured. "Perhaps that, in itself, is your punishment."

"I don't..."

"I have no intention of punishing Ukitake this time, or even mentioning the incident to him." Genryuusai shook his head. "His grades and attendance are good, after all, and there are many things which he doesn't yet understand. Besides, he was as unwilling to disclose your whereabouts as you've been to disclose his name, you know - and it gives me the faintest hope that even despite your appalling behaviour, you do have at least some sense of responsibility and loyalty inside that incomprehensible mind of yours. It's not my plan to make your classmates resent you or to set you apart from them any more than you already have done - since in that respect I think they may make an impression where authority has failed."

His expression became grave.

"But I am serious, Shunsui." He continued softly. "And if you cause me trouble, I _will_ send you home. And you will have to face Tokutarou-dono's plans for you without any hope of escape or mercy. He hoped you might find what you're missing here – but so far you don't seem willing to even look."

He turned towards the door, then,

"Kazoe-sensei is conducting an assessment this morning." He said, without looking back. "Since you are here, clearly that means you have failed. You will attend all of his extra lessons and take the test at the end of them. This will be on top of your other studies, of course. And if you fail _that _assessment, you will answer directly to me – at which point you will learn how much nicer it is to be taught by Kazoe-sensei."

He let his words hang heavily in the air for a moment, then he left the room, pulling the door shut behind him.

As he did so, however, he frowned, feeling the unstable fluctuations in his student's reiatsu as he made his way slowly back towards his own quarters.

Tokutarou was right, after all. Though he was casual and haphazard, there was a deep core of unhappiness beneath Shunsui's indolent behaviour. And even if he was to be whipped, or humiliated, or forcibly dragged to class – that unhappiness would continue to fester, breeding and changing until it became resentment and despair.

He was Matsuhara's son, and he had Matsuhara's talents. But he also had Matsuhara's flaws. And Genryuusai knew that the boy was already perilously close to reaching a crossroads in his life.

_But it's a choice he must make. It's not one that anyone else can make for him. And that being the case, I have to leave it in his hands. And hope that, in the end, it's the right one._

With that he reached his study, sliding back the door and stepping inside as another thought crossed his mind.

_And then there's the real problem to deal with. I didn't think it would take long before either the Shihouin or the Endou began to move. There were shadows in that boy's gaze this morning, when he spoke of his lateness – it seems my initial concerns about Shihouin Kai's enrolment at this place may have been right._

He sighed, rubbing his temples.

_But even so, he has potential and I want to believe that there can be a world in which boys like him aren't tied by blood and honour to the whims of the mad fools who lead them. Kai's young and still impressionable. I had hoped that maybe if I took the gamble and accepted him, perhaps he'd learn to strike out for himself. But perhaps my hopes are too high. Maybe it's too soon for a clan like the Shihouin to settle, after all._

He sank down at his desk, running his fingers over the pile of paperwork that lay there. On top of the pile was the headed communication from the Shiba-ke that he had received only that morning, and as he read over it once more, he felt heartily glad that he had established such strong bonds of friendship with the other Great Family. Of all the Clans, it was the Shiba who always had their finger on the pulse, and Genryuusai had found it often to his advantage in the past.

This too seemed to be one of those times for, although the announcement of a Shihouin betrothal to an Endou heir seemed innocuous, the timing of it was significant enough to be almost a declaration of war.

_An alliance between the assassins and the warriors is not good for the peace in Seireitei, when we should be fighting Hollows and not one another. _

Genryuusai frowned, setting the memo aside. In comparison, he reflected, Shunsui's insubordination was a mere drop in the ocean to deal with.

_In this climate, we'll need all the strength we can get. If Seireitei's ever going to take a step forward and put the survival of this world over the individual petty pride of the Clans, we have to act now. Else otherwise it doesn't bear thinking about. If things don't begin to change soon, those Noble fools will be consigning the whole of our world to its doom. _

He sighed.

_I suppose time will tell, in the end, whether or not things have already been left too late to change. Whether we can be saved or not remains in the balance - and all we can do is push on and do our best to avert whatever disaster might come our way._


	7. Amici

**Chapter Six: Amici  
**

"The test results have been posted!"

As Juushirou and his two companions made their way to the Dining Hall for breakfast, Sora descended on them excitedly, eagerness glittering in her emerald eyes as she grabbed her classmate firmly by the arm. It was the end of the sixth week, and after a busy few days in which none of the teachers had given any of them much quarter, Juushirou was looking forward to the next day - the one day a week where the students were free to do as they pleased.

He had barely seen Shunsui in this time, for Genryuusai had made sure the lazy student had been kept even busier with this or that study assignment, and they had only really crossed paths in the dorm at night. Shunsui had seemed a little dented but by no means completely quelled by the experience of being caught in the act by the Head of the School, and nor had he placed any blame on Kai or any of his classmates for not having better protected his whereabouts. In fact, Juushirou reflected, he had seemed much the same as ever. Yet there had been no more attempts to slip out of the dorm window - and Juushirou had sensed a faintly troubled flicker in the boy's aura whenever they had met gazes.

When Enishi had asked him what Genryuusai had said, Shunsui had brushed it off, claiming it was unimportant. But Juushirou felt otherwise - for since that morning, Shunsui had at least got up with the rest of them, and had attended all of his classes for that week. True, he had barely picked up his brush to write, and on one occasion had seemed more likely to drop off to sleep during Aitori's nasal lecturing, but at least it was a step in the right direction.

_Though he's not my problem to worry about, I seem to be worrying about him anyhow._

Juushirou shook his head as if to clear it, tuning back in to Sora's eager conversation.

"You didn't see the board yet, right? Both Kazoe and Aitori have posted their results together. Of course, Shunsui's failed both, so we know _he's_ in extra classes. But noone else did. Even though those last questions of Aitori's were a pain and a half - the rest of us all passed."

"Are we ranked?" Enishi asked apprehensively, then, "Hey! Wait a minute - we _all_ passed?"

"That's what I said...clean your ears out, Houjou." Sora snorted. "Don't look at me so incredulously. That includes you - even if you did only scrape Kidou by the skin of your teeth. You ranked below some of Class Two on that one, you know - but you passed."

"I don't believe it." Enishi stared up at the big noticeboard in amazement, and Juushirou followed his gaze, skimming across the list of names scribed there from right to left in neat columns.

"Kuchiki-kun came top in both subjects." He observed, glancing around him for any sign of Ryuu, but the boy was not there.

"That's no surprise, surely?" Sora pulled a face. "Kuchiki-kun's obviously a brainiac with all those years of Clan training behind him."

"Endou-kun, you came second in Hohou." Juushirou cast his shy friend a smile, and Hirata blushed furiously at the praise and the attention.

"I like Hohou." He murmured. "It's interesting and I don't find it difficult. Besides, Ukitake-kun, you came third."

"I've been outpaced by a fifteen year old and someone from District Seireitei." Enishi grimaced playfully at his two friends. "And I thought that was my better subject of the two, too."

"It is. You only ranked eighth in that one, as opposed to thirteenth." Sora said bluntly. "And Juushirou was second in Kidou - even though Genryuusai-sensei put the frighteners on us all before we sat that test."

Juushirou's eyes widened, and his gaze flitted back to the board.

Sure enough, between Ryuu's name and Shihouin Kai's were the five characters that made up his own, and despite himself a faint swell of pride stirred inside his heart.

"No kidding." He murmured. "I really didn't expect to do that well. I'd had so little sleep - maybe I knew it better than I thought I did."

"More likely it's because you've read so much of Kazoe's book." Enishi suggested. "You were writing at a furious speed at one point - it was making me dizzy just watching you."

"Why were you watching him?" Sora looked amused. "No wonder you screwed up, Houjou-kun, if you spend your test time examining your classmates' writing speed rather than writing your own answers."

"I was stuck for ideas." Enishi coloured red at this. "I wasn't trying to copy him, Sora - it was just..."

"Noone's saying that." Juushirou assured him. "Sora's just teasing you, that's all."

"Besides, you're too far from Juushirou's seat to copy him, unless you've got magic eyesight." Sora added. "Still, though, you passed."

Her gaze drifted across to where Shunsui's name was written, and she pursed her lips.

"_He's _gonna have a lot of work to do, however." She murmured, and from her tone there was no need for her to explain to anyone who she meant. "Since there's no way Kazoe or Aitori are going to go easy on him. He'll have to do the make-up classes and re-sit the tests before he's allowed near the practical stuff - and then he'll be playing catch-up in that, too. In the end he's created more to do by skiving, not less."

"It's a hassle, but I suppose it can't be helped."

Shunsui's own voice interjected at that moment, and the group turned, seeing their classmate standing a few feet away, arms folded casually across his chest as he gazed up at the board. "Heh. Not bad going, Juushirou-kun - you might catch Kuchiki up yet."

"I doubt it." Juushirou shook his head. "He's had a big head start on me. But I am proud that I came second."

He grinned.

"Even if I didn't have the best night's sleep beforehand."

"Mm." For a moment Shunsui's gaze clouded, but it was gone in an instant and Juushirou almost thought he'd imagined it as the other boy let out a gusty sigh.

"I guess I'm going to become intimately acquainted with Kazoe-sensei and Aitori-sensei over the next couple of weeks, aren't I?"

"It's your own fault." Sora said unsympathetically. "If you'd just come to class properly, you wouldn't be in this position."

"You are intending to go to the extra classes then?" Enishi asked, and Shunsui shrugged.

"Better had, I think, this time around." He reflected. "Whether I'll learn anything or not I don't know - but the alternative is having Yama-jii take it on himself. And I'm not so much of an idiot as to realise that I'll do better with Kazoe and Aitori than I will with the boss himself. Nothing gets past him, after all."

"It's only taken you almost seven weeks to realise it." Sora grimaced at him. "Still, at least you have. Thank God Genryuusai-sensei didn't decide to send a letter to Tokutarou-nii about it - else it wouldn't just have been you in trouble."

"My sincere apologies, Sora-chan." Shunsui bowed elaborately before her, and Sora snorted, shoving him aside.

"If you stopped clowning and started studying you might actually grade before you leave here." She said cuttingly. "How about giving it a try? You'll be a lameass Shinigami at this rate, if you don't even know how to cast a basic Kidou spell."

"And how many do _you_ know how to cast?" Shunsui looked interested. "I didn't think anyone had done practical Kidou yet."

"No, not yet, but we will." Sora snapped, her cheeks reddening slightly at his remark. "_You'll_ be held back, but the rest of us will soon begin practical Kidou. Next week, in fact, most likely. And then you'll be left in the dust."

"Providing I don't turn everyone to dust in the meantime." Enishi glanced at his big hands ruefully. "I'm a little worried about that."

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Juushirou assured him. "But what I said at the start of term still stands, Houjou-kun. If you want my help in Kidou, I'll gladly trade it for yours in Ouyoudou. I'm sure none of the teachers would mind us helping one another, so long as we didn't do anything too dangerous."

"Houjou and Kidou might be dangerous." Sora pursed her lips. "But if you were to ask Kazoe-sensei, Juushirou, he'd probably let you use the arena to practice. He seems to like you, for some reason."

"It's because he's still reading that book." Enishi sighed. "No matter how many other assignments we have, somehow he always finds time."

"It's an interesting book." Juushirou flushed red. "And before I came here I really knew very little about any Shinigami arts. I want to know as much as I can, so I'm going to read it all. I've got more than half way through it now, anyhow - every little helps, and I haven't had the same background as any of the rest of you in that regard."

He smiled ruefully.

"Noone in my family's ever been a Shinigami." He added. "So there's been noone to teach me anything about that. I don't even know if I'm good enough to be one, in the end, or if I'll end up falling short. But I want to give it my best, either way. Whatever happens."

"You're not going to fall short, Juushirou." Sora told him firmly, offering him a grin. "Noble Clan or not, you're smart. And you work hard. Unlike certain _other_ people, who should have had these things handed to them on a plate..."

She shot Shunsui a pointed glance at this juncture,

"You're fine. You were second at the start of term, and you're second now. You've not dropped at all."

"Second in Kidou. Not in the others." Juushirou corrected her. "But I'm glad I did well. Father would be happy, I think, if he knew that."

"Are you going to write home, then, and tell him?" Sora asked, and Juushirou smiled sadly.

"I will write." he agreed. "At least I can tell Okaasama, and she'll know that I'm doing my best."

"That was a tactless question, Sora-chan." Shunsui scolded lightly, though there was an odd look in his dark eyes. "Juushirou's father's taken a long journey, and doesn't intend on coming back."

"A long...journey?" Sora looked blank, and Shunsui sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Like mine." He said pointedly, and Sora's eyes widened first with shock and then dismay as she grasped his meaning.

"Oh! Juushirou, I..."

"It's all right." Juushirou held up his hands, offering her a grin. "You didn't know, and there's no reason for you to. But it was Father's wish that I come here, and make use of the strength I had. So that's why I said it. That's all. I don't know whether or not any part of him is still here, but I like to think he's watching over me. Just...protecting me and my family, somehow. Even if it's stupid to think that way. So he's still very real to me - even though he's no longer here."

"I'm sorry." Sora said soberly. "I can't imagine not having either of my parents."

"Kyouraku, you lost your Father too?" Enishi questioned, and Shunsui offered a wry grin.

"Clearly, since my brother is head of the Clan now." He pointed out, and Enishi looked sheepish.

"Oh. Yeah. Guess so."

"It's fine, though." Shunsui shrugged. "I was six, and he was always away, in any case. I didn't know him well enough to be scarred by the experience."

"What are you all doing clustered around here like this?"

A voice interrupted the conversation at that point, though not before Juushirou had seen the strange glitter in his classmate's eyes once more, and wondered at it.

"Surely you are all aware that the bell for morning class will ring in a few moments, and by the looks of you none of you have even given a thought to your morning meal?"

"Aitori-sensei!" Enishi exclaimed, and Juushirou bit his lip, Shunsui forgotten as they turned to face the Hohou teacher.

Of all the staff at the Academy, Juushirou knew that Aitori disapproved of his being there the most.

He was a tall man, almost the same height as Enishi, and lean and lithe, giving him the impression of someone who moved with skill and speed when the cause called for it. He was dark skinned, just as Kai was, with the same thick waves of violet hair and golden eyes that gave away his Shihouin heritage. The Shihouin were, he had soon learnt, Soul Society's greatest experts when it came to the various types and methods of Hohou usage, and as a result, Aitori was a demanding teacher who expected his students to understand everything straight away. However, unlike Kazoe, he was not fair-minded, and was prone to making favourites. These choices reflected largely on Clan influence and loyalties, which left Juushirou at the bottom of the scale. And, having studied under him for six full weeks now, Juushirou had heard already in great detail how the thin-faced teacher felt about the admission of District residents into the school.

Him in particular.

He knew, for Sora had murmured it once during a particularly sticky lesson, that Aitori's nephew Onoe Tomoyuki had been ranked in Class Two on the basis of his Ouyoudou results in the guidance exam, and despite all the Clan's influence, nothing had been done to change it. Although it had been Enishi whose score the boy had come closest to matching, it was Juushirou that Aitori held responsible. After all, Enishi was Clan - no matter how clumsy and tactless he might be. And Juushirou, no matter how hard he worked, would always be from the lower levels.

Aitori's dislike had therefore been set in stone before the two had met. And Juushirou knew it had not improved any on their few weeks acquaintance.

"We came to see the test results, sensei." Sora recovered her wits, bowing properly before the teacher as he eyed them all suspiciously. "Since Mitsuki told me that they'd been posted, I hurried here to see them and met Juushirou and the others at the same time."

"Mm." Aitori's eyes narrowed for a moment, gazing up at the board. He frowned, then nodded.

"From next week, those of you with a ranking will begin practical classes in Hohou and Kidou." He murmured. "Of course, Kyouraku, that won't apply to _you_, now will it?"

"No, sensei." Shunsui said casually. "But I'll look forward to the pleasure of your company, and trust that you'll help me see the error of my ways."

Aitori wheeled around, glaring at him darkly.

"A thousand beatings couldn't show you those, it seems." He said coldly. "But I _will _make you work. Genryuusai-sensei has made it very clear what's to be done with you - don't believe that you'll meet any lenience from either Kazoe or I when it comes to making up the work missed."

"Yes, sensei." Shunsui smiled cheerfully. "As I said, I'm looking forward to it."

Aitori's eyes narrowed, but he said no more, and from the derision that prickled from Shunsui's aura, Juushirou felt that his classmate had won this battle. Despite his behaviour, after all, Shunsui was still the heir to the Kyouraku Clan and therefore an important person. And no matter how rude or lazy Shunsui was, Aitori was not the kind of person who liked to cross those born more highly than he was.

Shunsui clearly knew it, and somehow Juushirou realised that whether Shunsui attended his classes or not, there was very little likelihood of him being reported for it to Genryuusai.

There was no more time to ponder it, however, for now Aitori's piercing gold eyes were fixed on him, dislike festering in their depths.

"As for _you_..." He said coolly. "It seems that you only fully apply yourself if you think the teacher will give you a pat on the back and a 'well done', don't you? You were lucky, this time, Ukitake. You ranked third, true enough, but it was a very low third in comparison to the papers submitted by Kuchiki and Endou."

Juushirou flushed red at this, and Shunsui tut-tutted softly under his breath.

"The rest of the class must have been pretty awful too, then, if that's the case, sensei." He murmured innocently. "Since Juushirou did get third place, even so."

Aitori's lips thinned.

"Genryuusai-sensei overlooked all the papers before the final marks were posted." He said coolly. "In the end, it was his decision to mark and rank the students thus. I won't say I agree with them entirely...but in the end, Genryuusai-sensei's word is final."

His eyes became near slits.

"I will be watching, however." He murmured. "To make sure that you follow the class to the same level as your peers, Ukitake."

With that he was gone, and Sora poked out her tongue at his retreating form, her impulsive gesture making Juushirou feel slightly better.

"Sour-puss." She muttered. "Where does he get off, anyhow? You ranked third, and he's making an issue out of it?"

"Most likely, Aitori wanted to fail him." Shunsui said lazily. "Unfortunately for him Yama-jii doesn't seem keen on grading students on their bloodline, so that didn't work. It's pretty clear from what he didn't say that he marked the papers all over the place and Yama-jii took him to task on it. Otherwise there's no way Juushirou would've passed, let alone ranked."

"Do you think he'd really have done that?" Hirata's eyes became huge, and Shunsui nodded.

"There's no way in hell he'd have ranked Juushirou over Kai-kun if _he'd_ been in control of the papers." He said wisely. "I doubt he even intended to look at them. But, since Kazoe got Yama-jii all interested in my absence, I s'pect the boss decided to check up on all the First Year assessments and not just the one. So in the end, I'm the only one who failed. And since I didn't show up, that seems to be pretty accurate."

His gaze strayed to the board.

"Though it might've been more fun, having extra classes with someone else." He reflected regretfully. "Ah well."

"Aitori's a bigot and an idiot." Sora reflected. "That's all. Don't pay attention to him, Juushirou. He's just trying to break you down."

"I know." Juushirou nodded. "And it's fine. I'll just have to work harder in his classes, so he's got no reason to criticise me."

"He's a pretty ugly example of Clan elitism, is what he is." Enishi grimaced. "We don't all feel that way, though. You know that, Ukitake, right?"

Juushirou smiled, nodding his head.

"I do." He agreed, though deep inside he still felt a little upset by the force of the teacher's dislike. "And I won't let one instructor persuade me that Clansfolk are all elitist. If that was true, I wouldn't have made any friends here. But I don't feel like I don't belong at all...so it's fine. Really, Houjou-kun. You needn't worry - I'm made of stronger stuff than that."

"Just as I thought the first day I met you." Sora looked satisfied. "You look fragile, but you're really not inside, are you?"

"Hopefully not." Juushirou laughed. "I can't do anything about the way I look, after all - but there's plenty to be done about the way I think or feel about things."

"The class bell is about to ring." Hirata put in softly. "We don't want to be late."

"Endou's right." Enishi acknowledged. "Come on. We can continue this later - lets not give Kazoe anything to grumble about at the very least!"

* * *

"Letters from home!"

Enishi slid back the door of the dormitory, his announcement even stirring the sleepy Shunsui from his bed as he dumped his burden down on his own bunk with a satisfied grin. "The delivery's taken long enough - I wondered if people had forgotten about us, holed up here like this!"

"You got all that mail?" Juushirou stared at him. "How many relatives do you have, anyway?"

"No, they're not all mine." Enishi shook his head, sitting on the end of his bunk as he began to sort through them. "I just brought up everyone's so as no one else had to make the trip. It's our free day, after all - and breakfast isn't for another hour, yet."

"You could've done it a bit more quietly, though." Shunsui sent him a look from beneath hooded lids. "Some of us are enjoying the rarity of being allowed to lie in without fear of Yama-jii on our tail."

"Sorry, Kyouraku." Enishi said sheepishly. "But it's way past dawn already. You should be awake by now, surely?"

"Mm. Matter of opinion." Shunsui pulled his blanket more firmly up over his body, turning so that his back was to his companion. "Just tone it down in future, all right?"

"So whose letters are they, Houjou-kun?" Hirata asked softly.

"I think there's at least one for everyone." Enishi examined his precious treasure, then nodded. "Yep. Here, get ready to catch, okay? I'll toss them out."

"Houjou, do you come in a silent model?" Shunsui groaned, pulling himself into a sitting position as he realised that there would be no more rest so long as his classmate was excited. "Next time you're in the library, maybe you could go find a dictionary and look up the meaning of 'quietly', huh? Otherwise I might teach you the meaning of 'angry classmate'."

"There's one for you too, Kyouraku." Enishi was not noticeably crushed, and Shunsui gave up, deftly catching the rolled up letter that was casually tossed his way. "Ukitake, you have three - Endou, there's one for you, and Shihouin...you too. Kuchiki, you have two, and so do I. And that's all of them."

"_Three _letters, huh?" Shunsui cast Juushirou an amused glance. "Is that your extensive family getting their word in, or are you popular with a lady I don't know about?"

"I told you. I've never had time to pursue the same kind of hobbies you have." Juushirou's pale cheeks reddened a little at the insinuation, but he shook his head.

"Really?" Shunsui kicked back his blanket, coming to stand over his classmate's shoulder. "That looks like a very feminine hand."

"That's Okaasama's writing." Juushirou snapped. "Stop reading over my shoulder, will you? You have your own letter from home, surely...what's so interesting about mine?"

"Nothing." Shunsui shook his head. "Just, I guess you weren't kidding about this close knit family thing."

He bent to scoop up one of the others, glancing it over, and Juushirou snatched it away from him, glaring at him indignantly.

"Hey!"

"Another elegant female hand." Shunsui wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "And you look so innocent."

"For the last time, Shunsui, I am _not_ like you!" Juushirou exclaimed. "That letter's from my sister Chihiro, if you really want to know - all right? One from Okaasama, one from Chi-chan and one from my old sensei, Kamikura. Okay? Nothing lewd or whatever it is you're suggesting. Now go and read your own mail and leave mine alone!"

"That told you, Kyouraku." Enishi looked amused. "Maybe it'll be _you_ learning the meaning of 'angry classmate' after all."

"You're all so incredibly noisy whenever our free day rolls around." Ryuu glanced up from his own letter, a faint flicker of annoyance in his grey eyes. "Does it have to be the same each week? It's enough to give anyone a headache. And besides, this isn't exactly the topic of conversation well-born men of the Noble classes should be having. Kyouraku, it's hardly appropriate to discuss such things so freely."

"Well, I'm a different kind of Clansman to you, Ryuu-kun, and Juushirou's out of the loop completely." Shunsui shrugged, unrepentant as he sank down on his own bed, reaching for his discarded letter. "And it's our day off, so give us a little slack, okay? Just because you might spend all day in the library again today doesn't mean the rest of us are going to."

"_You're_ confined to grounds, though, aren't you?" Kai said pointedly, setting his own message aside. "What are you going to do that's so exciting?"

"Sleep, probably." Shunsui rubbed his chin pensively. "It's a nuisance, being that it looks like a nice day. But I might find somewhere peaceful in the grounds and take a nap. That won't be breaking bounds, after all, and I need my fresh air."

He grinned.

"What about you, Kai-kun? Do _you_ have a lady friend you're secretly meeting on the sly?"

"Of course not!" Kai's cheeks flushed indignantly at this. "What kind of man do you imagine I am?"

"Well, if you want my honest opinion, I'd say you're probably fairly repressed." Shunsui said lazily, watching with amusement as the colour heightened further in Kai's cheeks. "I just wondered, that's all. You've slipped out after dinner a few times this week, and so I wondered if maybe you'd met a pretty belle from one of the local villages that you were trying to keep a secret."

"Are you keeping tabs on my movements or something?" Kai demanded, though Shunsui was quick to note the flicker of consternation in the boy's eyes. "Of course not! I've been working in the library, if you want to know! Studying - something _you_ know nothing about!"

"That's peculiar, since _I_ have been in the library every evening between dinner and my evening bath, and I have not seen you once." Ryuu's eyes narrowed at this, sending his foe a challenging glance, and Kai snorted, shaking his head.

"Just because you think you're so important, Kuchiki, you don't know everything that goes on." He snapped back. "And you've always got your nose buried in a book, so how would you know who's around you?"

"What were you reading up on, Shihouin-kun?" Juushirou asked curiously, and Shunsui was struck by the sudden look of resentment that Kai sent the boy's way.

"Nothing that would concern _you_." He muttered. "Let it go, will you? All of you. I was in the library. That's all. Why don't you ask Kuchiki about what _he_ was studying? What's so interesting about _me_ all of a sudden?"

"Absolutely nothing, evidently." Shunsui tut-tutted under his breath, but the sudden anxious fluctuation in the boy's reiatsu had not escaped his notice. "Pity. I was hoping for a nice juicy scandal to make the day more interesting. Oh well."

He shrugged, offering Kai an indolent smile.

"If I could leave campus, I could introduce you to some pretty girls." He added. "But I'm afraid I'm a little tied at the moment."

"Like I'd want anything to do with that kind of girl!" Kai exploded at this, getting to his feet and grabbing his towel from its hook as he did so. "I'm going to take a bath - at least maybe I'll be able to do that without folk making ludicrous insinuations!"

With that he was gone, banging the door behind him, and Enishi winced.

"I think you really upset him, Kyouraku." He said frankly, and Shunsui shrugged.

"He shouldn't be so sensitive." He said casually. "I was only asking."

"I don't think he liked the way you asked any more than I did." Juushirou pointed out. "I know you were only teasing, Shunsui - but Shihouin-kun is pretty proud and he wouldn't have taken it as funny."

"No, perhaps it's not as simple as that." Ryuu's grey eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "While I consider your method of interrogation inappropriate and offensive, Kyouraku, it has also concerned me the number of times Shihouin has been absent from our ranks since the beginning of the week."

"Since the...beginning of the week?" Juushirou frowned. "You mean, since he had visitors from home?"

"Precisely that." Ryuu's eyes were like flint as he considered. "I can assure you, also, that he has not been in the library. Much as I read things deeply and thoroughly, I am always aware of any reiatsu that crosses into my space. Whatever he says - and the violence of his reaction strengthens my conviction - he has not been studying. At least, not there."

"Maybe he's been having extra coaching in something, and he's been ashamed to admit it." Enishi suggested. "He did have to see Aitori, didn't he? At the start of the week."

"But Aitori is his kinsman, and so he may simply have been passing a family greeting or message." Ryuu shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, I do not trust his word. The Shihouin are a shadow-clan who practice low arts in order to maintain their status. And Shihouin Kai is no different. Deception is their life-blood. I would not take him at his word."

"Some might say you were a touch biased there, Ryuu-kun, since you obviously hate him." Shunsui pursed his lips, and Ryuu spread his hands.

"Believe what you will." He said simply. "I have faith in my convictions, that is all. My knowledge of the boy and his people is perhaps more valuable in this instance than your assumptions."

"Does this have anything to do with the warning you gave me the other morning?" Juushirou asked quizzically, and Shunsui frowned, shooting his classmate a sidelong glance.

"Warning?" He echoed, and Juushirou nodded.

"Kuchiki-kun thinks that I should be careful and watch my step because there are Clansfolk who won't accept me no matter what I do." He said with a sigh. "And that there are a lot of those people who'd like to see me removed from the Academy, just on account of my bloodline."

"That's a pretty blatant warning." Shunsui's eyes widened in surprise. "Especially from a Kuchiki - Ryuu-kun, what was that about?"

"Nothing in particular." Ryuu said with a shrug. "I just felt it was important for Ukitake to be aware that trusting in everyone he meets is a foolish venture and likely to bring him into trouble. That is all."

His gaze rested on Hirata at that moment, who had been listening to the whole exchange in silence, and at the sudden attention, he flinched, gazing at his dormmate in dismay.

"Why are you looking at Endou?" Enishi asked. "You don't actually think _he's_ going to hurt Ukitake, do you?"

"Of course he isn't." Juushirou said frankly. "Endou-kun's my friend. Why would he have anything against me?"

"I have not said that he does, or that he ever will." Ryuu said softly. "But either way, it remains the case that in the summer a vote was cast among the Noble Council of Elders to decide whether or not to permit Genryuusai-sensei the support to allow non-Clan born children into the Academy."

His eyes narrowed, and Shunsui frowned.

"And your point is what, exactly?" He asked softly. "The vote was passed. Yama-jii got his approval."

"Indeed, he did." Ryuu nodded his head. "However, by a tight margin."

His gaze shifted to Juushirou, whose expression was a mixture of surprise and consternation.

"Three to two in favour, with two abstentions." He murmured. "The Yamamoto were forbidden to vote on account of their bias, so only seven Clans were asked to decide. Those who voted in favour were the Kyouraku, the Shiba and the Unohana. My own Clan and the Urahara abstained from voting. And the two who voted against were..."

"Endou and Shihouin." Enishi murmured, and Juushirou's eyes widened.

"Endou and Shihouin?" He repeated, and Ryuu nodded.

"Precisely."

"Stop trying to make a difficult situation, Ryuu-kun." Shunsui saw the distress in Hirata's eyes, and held up his hands. "Just because the vote went that way doesn't mean every person within any of those Clans feels the same as the way their people voted. Right, Hirata-kun?"

He cast the frightened boy a smile.

"You're on Juushirou's side, right?"

Slowly, Hirata nodded his head, though Shunsui could see the glitter of tears on his lashes.

"I _know_ that." Juushirou said impatiently. "I don't care whether he's Endou Hirata or what family he's from. I don't look at things like that."

"I know. It's one of your better features, in fact." Shunsui grinned at him, and surprised, Juushirou returned the grin. "Clans are far too collective in their views as it is."

"It is true that Endou is unlike any of his kin that I have met in the past." Ryuu admitted. "Even so, however, it is always a good idea to be alert. The Endou-ke are a strong military Clan who do not like to give second chances. And if someone crosses their path, it is often said that they do not cross anyone's path ever again."

"_Stop_ it!" Hirata exclaimed at this point, making his companions start and stare at him in surprise at his sudden outburst. Tears streamed down the young boy's face and he shook his head, frustration and fear in his pale eyes.

"Ukitake-kun is my friend!" He protested. "He's been kind to me and I wouldn't ever, ever, _ever_ do anything to hurt him, no matter what! I'm Endou-ke, but Kyouraku-kun is right! I'm _not_ my Clan! I have my own feelings too, Kuchiki-kun! And _Ukitake-kun is my friend_!"

"Well, so you can speak up for yourself after all, huh kid?" Enishi stared at him in astonishment, and Hirata reddened, looking suddenly embarrassed at his outburst.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "I just...Kuchiki-kun was saying things...and I don't want Ukitake-kun to think that I'm his enemy. It...it's true that my Clan have that reputation, but I'm not...I'm really not like that. I don't want to hurt anyone. I didn't even want to come here in the first place. Only I had to - because of how things were. And I hated it, but Ukitake-kun helped me and he's been kind to me since the start. Why would I hurt him? I couldn't do that."

His eyes darkened as more tears threatened.

"Noone else bothered about me till Ukitake-kun did." he whispered.

"Hey, don't cry." Dismay touched Juushirou's expression, and he got to his feet, coming to slip a comforting arm around the younger boy. "I don't doubt you. It's not the way I feel, so don't get upset. I trust you, after all. And we're friends, just like you said. Kuchiki-kun is just trying to explain to me how the Clans are."

Hirata sniffled, then buried his head in his companion's robe, shaking with the force of his sobs, and Shunsui sighed.

"It's not even breakfast and already Shihouin's stormed off in a huff and Endou's in tears." He said resignedly. "So much for a quiet day off."

"Such displays of emotion are hardly helpful." Ryuu sank back against the wall, reaching for his discarded letter.

"You upset him." Juushirou said reproachfully. "That's all. He's already homesick and now you're making him feel as though people are avoiding him and staring at him because he's from the family that he is. I appreciate your warning, Kuchiki-kun - I know you've given it with my best interests in mind and I'm grateful. But I'm going to believe in the people I want to believe in. I trust Endou-kun and that's all there is to it. If you don't give trust, after all, no one's ever going to trust you. It has to start somewhere."

Ryuu looked startled at this, and despite himself, Shunsui grinned.

_When he says things like that, even the Clans don't have an answer for him. You really are an interesting one, Juushirou. And just as I thought, you're putting cats among pigeons in every possible regard. I only hope it doesn't mean trouble for you in the long run - that someone doesn't betray that trust you want to give._

"If you don't want to be associated with the Endou-ke so strongly, kid, how about we don't call you that any more?" Enishi suggested. "Kyouraku already calls you Hirata from time to time, and you don't seem to mind it - what if we all did it? Would you hate it, if we did?"

Hirata glanced up, a faint glimmer of hope in his pale eyes as he slowly shook his head.

"I don't mind." He murmured. "If you want to call me Hirata, I don't...I don't mind."

"Then Hirata it is." Juushirou told him warmly. "All right? We'll forget about the Clan thing completely. Okay? Because I don't know much about the Endou-ke and I don't really want to, from Kuchiki-kun's description. But I want to know about you, of course. So it's settled."

"Simple as that." Shunsui chuckled. "You know, Juushirou-kun, I'm really starting to see why the Clans are so bothered about you. At this rate you're going to start undermining them all with kindness, and I don't know what they're going to do about it."

"Undermining...with...kindness?" Juushirou blinked, and Shunsui nodded.

"Take Ryuu-kun, for example." He said casually. "He barely even _looked _at you to begin with - but now he's going out of his way to warn you of things he thinks might threaten your safety. There's Houjou and Hirata-kun here, too, who you've won over regardless of their connections or anything else, for that matter. I certainly don't have any objection to your company - and I've noticed that Sora seems to have been drawn in, too. Plus, I've heard the girls talking - Edogawa-san was quite concerned about you, after you were taken ill in Ouyoudou that time. You're becoming frighteningly popular, even without your having realised it. And I can see why people in high places would be afraid of that. It's hard, after all, to battle against honest niceness."

"What are you talking about?" Juushirou flushed scarlet, shaking his head. "You're babbling nonsense! I'm not trying to overcome anything, or start any battle. I'll make friends with people if I can, that's all. I don't actively dislike anyone here, so far. That's all. It's nothing else."

"As for me, of course I'm going to warn him." Ryuu said archly, though there was clear embarrassment in his grey eyes. "After all, beyond the four degrees he may be, but Ukitake is my kinsman. And therefore it is a blood obligation."

"_Kinsman_?" Enishi's eyes almost fell out of his head, and Juushirou shook his head.

"Not exactly." He said hurriedly. "It's just...my Mother was a distant relation of the Kuchiki-ke in District Six, that's all. She was well beyond the centre of the Clan, just like Kuchiki-kun said. But she had the name, when she married Father."

"Then that explains a lot." Shunsui clicked his tongue thoughtfully against the roof of his mouth as he digested this. "That freakass reiatsu, for starters. But it must be a _very_ distant connection, Juushirou-kun. Because you don't seem to have the requisite rod up your behind when dealing with other people that the Kuchiki seem to think is necessary."

"Kyouraku, if you have an issue with my Clan, then..."

"I say it as it is." Shunsui smiled benignly at Ryuu's indignation. "If you want it to be otherwise, do something about it. It's not my fault, after all, if I say something that's true."

Juushirou chuckled.

"I don't know what I expected, when I came to this place. But I don't think it was this." He reflected, getting to his feet. "But it's almost time for breakfast, and I want to take a bath first, if I can. Anyone want to join me?"

"I'm game." Enishi nodded, reaching for his towel. "Hirata, what about you?"

"I...okay." Hirata pinkened slightly at the use of his first name, but nodded his head. "If you both are, I will, too."

"Then let's ask if we can walk into the town after breakfast." Juushirou suggested. "Kuchiki-kun, you can come too, if you like. I know you wanted to spend it in the library, but you need fresh air too, surely? I'd invite Shunsui, but..."

"I'm grounded to campus. I know." Shunsui shrugged, stifling a yawn. "It's fine. Walking sounds like too much effort on a fine day like this."

"Kuchiki?" Enishi cast the startled Noble a quizzical look, and after a moment of hesitation, Ryuu nodded.

"Very well." he said, with as much dignity as he could muster. "Thank you, Ukitake. I will accept your invitation."

"Then we'll go speak to Genryuusai-sensei after we eat, and see what he says." Juushirou grinned. "We'll bring you back something, Shunsui, if you like."

"It's fine. I don't think Yama-jii'd like the kind of smuggling I'd be interested in." Shunsui responded. "Have a good day, all of you. I'll see you later."


	8. The Shadow Clan

**Chapter Seven: The Shadow Clan**

Spring was in full flourish as the boys made their way up the forest path towards the nearby town settlement, and Juushirou drew a deep breath into his lungs, enjoying the feel of the cool, clean air against his cheeks. Though there was no sea breeze here, the scent of the different blossoms mingled on the wind, giving the atmosphere a gentle, light sense to it, and Juushirou found that, although it was quite different from the forestland near his home, he was becoming fond of First District's scenery.

"It's a beautiful day." To his right, Enishi appeared to have read his thoughts, holding out his hand to catch the glinting fragments of sun through the trees' heavy foliage. "I always love this time of year the best. It's the kind of weather where you can get out and about and enjoy the outdoors without worrying about things like ice and snow and winter frost."

"Summer is on its way." Juushirou agreed. "Little by little. I don't know what summer is like in First District, Houjou-kun - but I think I'm looking forward to finding out."

"I can't imagine it would be so very different to Sixth, Ukitake." Ryuu put in at that moment, turning from where he had been walking two or three paces ahead of them. "After all, there is a good deal of climate equilibrium between the central areas of Seireitei. If we were, perhaps, in a mountainous region, then it would be a different case - but although the flora is different, I believe the seasons will remain more or less the same."

"I suppose so." Juushirou pursed his lips. "Only, where I live, we're by the sea. And there's none of that here. So I thought maybe that would make a difference."

"No coastal storms." Enishi reflected, then he grinned. "Ah, but you _like_ storms, don't you, Ukitake?"

"I do." Juushirou laughed. "So I suppose I'll miss them, here, won't I?"

"Somehow that seems appropriate." Ryuu reflected, and Juushirou looked startled.

"Appropriate? How so?"

"There is an electricity in your aura which would be conducive to a natural affinity with stormy weather." Ryuu said evenly. "Surely you are aware of it, too?"

"Somewhat." Juushirou agreed. "But I hadn't realised it was obvious to other people."

"I'm Kuchiki. We can tell such things." Ryuu said frankly, and despite himself, a smile touched Juushirou's lips.

"My mother's name was Raiko, don't forget." He reminded his companion. "Perhaps it's just in my blood."

"That is also a possibility." Ryuu turned his attention back to the pathway ahead. "I believe there was once a Head of the Clan who had a certain affinity with the elements. Perhaps your mother was a distant blood descendant of that leader...through whatever diluted channels her line may have passed to reach your part of District Six."

"Kuchiki, can I ask a favour?" Enishi put in at that moment, and Ryuu cast the tall boy a glance out of the corner of his eye.

"Of course. What is it?"

"Could you try using words that I don't need a dictionary to look up the meaning of?" Enishi asked plaintively. "I know you're smart and top of the class and you've probably been reading since before you were born - but take pity on those of us who aren't good with vocabulary, huh? You use them too quickly for me to really know what you're trying to say - and its giving me a headache."

"I don't believe I said anything so very complicated." Ryuu looked offended, and Juushirou held up his hands.

"Let's talk about something else." He said hurriedly, as they reached the town gates. "This place looks very different in the day than it does to the night, you know - I don't think I'd have ever walked up this way if not for Shunsui and his bright midnight ideas."

"Kyouraku is indiscreet, considering his position." Ryuu pursed his lips. "He really brought you to a place such as this after the curfew bell had rung?"

"It was all very innocent, really." Enishi agreed. "But you're right, Ukitake. It does look different by day. There are a lot more people about - and it looks like there's a market."

"With the school in such close proximity, I imagine they seek to profit from the students hereabouts." Ryuu reflected. "Given that we are almost all from the upper echelons of society, they might seek to make a good income from our coin."

Enishi stared at him, and despite himself, Juushirou smothered a smile at his friend's confusion.

"Kuchiki-kun means that students like us are their lifeblood." He said simply. "Except that doesn't really apply to me. I don't have a lot of money with me, at school - and I don't mean to spend anything I don't have to."

He cast the silent Hirata a glance.

"What about you, Hirata-kun? Did you want to buy anything particularly?"

"No. Not especially." Hirata shook his head, glancing around at the town streets as he did so. "It's a very peaceful town, isn't it?"

"It seems that way." Juushirou agreed. "But then the Yamamoto-ke are a stable family, aren't they, Houjou-kun? There's no fighting here?"

"Not these days. With Genryuusai-sensei involved, no one would dare." Enishi said ruefully, scratching his head.

"He has a lot of influence, doesn't he?" Juushirou pursed his lips. "He must be pretty high ranking in your Clan."

"I suppose you could say Sensei is outside of the Clan in that respect." Enishi pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. "He should have been Head of the Clan, but refused to take it on until he had finished his goal of training up a solution to Seireitei's many problems. And for the same reason he's refused to take the Yamamoto _haori_ until such a time when he's satisfied with the Gotei standard. Yet even though he's outside of both of those things, he's viewed as higher than both. No one in the Yamamoto-ke ever moves against Genryuusai-sensei. He has contacts and connections across most of the Clans, and what he has to say holds weight. And though he doesn't wear First District's _haori,_ he's almost unofficially the one behind the Gotei these days - because of his revolutionary ideas about squads and other things. It's hard to explain it - but that's the kind of person Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama is."

"He is certainly very highly esteemed, even by the Kuchiki." Ryuu agreed. "It is said he was the first to ever take his _zanpakutou_ to the level known as 'Bankai'. Even now, few other Shinigami have attained that level of power. I suspect that, even those who dislike his actions seek to avoid upsetting him too greatly. It's safe to say that there are few individuals in Soul Society who could match him in a battle of blades."

"Ban..kai?" Juushirou looked blank. "I don't even know what that is."

"Currently, there are only three Shinigami in Soul Society with the capability to use that particular technique, so you should probably not concern yourself about it too much." Ryuu responded dismissively. "Genryuusai-sensei, of course, is one. The Head of the Kuchiki-ke - my Uncle - is a second, and the head of the Unohana-ke - Retsu-dono - is the third. It is the ultimate, most sought after yet most difficult level to attain in _zanpakutou_ skill."

"Far beyond me, then." Enishi said cheerfully, and Ryuu shot him a dark look.

"If you can't even understand basic language, Houjou, I wonder at how you'll manage to summon a _zanpakutou _at all." He said crushingly.

"They haven't even let us touch swords yet. Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Juushirou pointed out, and Ryuu shrugged.

"I have trained with one at home." He responded. "And I imagine others among our class are also familiar with real blades of one sort or another. You are different, of course, in that respect - but given your skill with the _bokutou_, I imagine you will pick up the requisite techniques fairly swiftly."

"Hey!" Before Juushirou could respond, Enishi grabbed his sleeve, gesturing across the street to a nearby tea shop with a glass-fronted window. "Isn't that _Shihouin_?"

Juushirou turned, his initial comment dying on his tongue as he squinted through the frosty pane to the table beyond. Sure enough, he could make out a familiar, hunched figure at one of the inside tables, and as he did so, he realised the boy wasn't alone.

"Aitori-sensei's with him." He murmured. "On our free day - is he studying out?"

"As I believe I already mentioned, Shihouin and Aitori are kinsmen." Ryuu said categorically. "There's nothing odd about them convening on a day off. And staring across the street isn't polite - stop it, the both of you, else you'll embarrass all of us."

"Fine." Juushirou gave up, shrugging his shoulders. "Just I don't think it was like that, Kuchiki-kun. Shihouin-kun looked uncomfortable, and Aitori-sensei was holding forth on something or other. And there was someone else with them - I didn't see him clearly, but it didn't look like he was a Shihouin to me."

"You saw all of that just by looking from here?" Enishi demanded, and Juushirou nodded.

"Aitori-sensei was waving his hands around when I looked." He replied. "And he grabbed Shihouin-kun's wrist, and Shihouin-kun looked bothered by it."

"A family spat, perhaps." Ryuu's lips twitched into a derisive smile. "It's no business of ours, however, how the Shihouin-ke spread their bad vibes. Shall we walk on? It seems there's a book seller of sorts at the end of this street."

"I suppose so." Juushirou agreed, though as they headed towards the big building Ryuu had indicated, he paused for a moment, glancing back towards the tea house with a frown.

_Aitori-sensei was agitated. Shihouin-kun was on edge. And when Aitori-sensei grabbed his arm...did Shihouin-kun look...scared?_

"Ukitake-kun?" Hirata's voice at his elbow made him turn, and he frowned, seeing the consternation in the other boy's gaze.

"Are you coming?" He asked softly. "Houjou-kun and Kuchiki-kun are already ahead of us."

"Yes. Sorry." Juushirou looked sheepish. "I just...even though Kuchiki-kun said they were kinsmen, Hirata - there was something about it that wasn't right. I don't know what it was, exactly - but it bothered me."

Hirata bit his lip, then,

"I don't want to stay near them, in case they see us." He murmured apprehensively.

"Are you scared by Shihouin-kun?" Juushirou was surprised, even as they quickened their pace to rejoin their companions on the front steps of the rambling old building. "Or is Aitori-sensei? Because we're allowed to be here today, Hirata-kun. I have the pass Sensei gave us to come out and we're not doing anything we shouldn't. And besides, Aitori-sensei seems to like you."

"No. It's not that." Hirata sent a wary glance back towards the tea house. "I just think it's better they don't see us. Any of us. Or know that we saw them. That's all."

Juushirou frowned, feeling the tension rippling through his young companion's aura, and he pursed his lips, making up his mind.

"If that's how you feel, we'll go inside and look at the books." He said evenly. "But you know, if something's bothering you - you can talk to me about it. Don't you?"

"Mm." Hirata nodded, but there was reticence in his pale eyes. "This isn't one of those times, Ukitake-kun. Let's just go in. All right?"

With that he ducked under the broken beam that led into the dim store beyond, and as he did so, Juushirou met Enishi's gaze, seeing the question in their dark depths. He shrugged, feeling as non-plussed as his companion, though Kai's expression still nagged at him, and Hirata's sudden tension only made the sensation worse.

_Still, what can I do about it if he won't say why he's afraid? Shihouin-kun does pick on him, and I've seen it, a couple of times, when it's been almost as though Shihouin-kun's had him cornered in the classroom before anyone else has got there. Maybe it's just that...but I don't know. There was something else, too. And I don't know what it was._

"It seems that the baby bird has once more flown the nest, doesn't it?" As he ran his fingers over a shelf of bound volumes, Ryuu's voice made him start and he turned, eying the other boy in surprise.

"Kuchiki-kun? Bird? What bird? What are you talking about?"

"Hirata." Ryuu pursed his lips. "Or haven't you sensed the sudden scattering in his reiatsu? He seemed in a hurry to get inside -I wonder what could've caused that."

"He did seem upset." Juushirou leant up against the wall, looking concerned. "You noticed it too?"

"Yes. And something else." Ryuu's eyes darkened. "It is not wise to stare at the meetings of Clansfolk, regardless of the circumstances. But that Clan in particular - Ukitake, you are foolish and careless if you think they would pass it off as curious interest. Whether they saw you or not, I don't know - I think perhaps they were too involved in their discussions to notice you or Houjou paying them attention. But when the Shihouin gather, it is almost certainly not good news. And you are not popular with that Clan. You should be careful."

"You're sounding sinister again." Juushirou protested. "A schoolteacher and a student out in town and you're acting like they're writing a warrant for my life!"

"Let's hope at least that that's not the case." Ryuu said ominously, and Juushirou sighed, shaking his head as though to clear it.

"I've never done anything to cross the Shihouin-ke and I've no interest in their business now, so I think you're blowing it out of all proportion." He said firmly. "I'm just one insignificant person, when it comes down to it. Whether Shihouin-kun or Aitori-sensei disapprove of me is a completely different thing from a blood feud. I know that much."

"Perhaps." Ryuu's eyes became flinty. "But you did not know the other with them, did you?"

"No." Juushirou looked surprised. "You mean you did? I thought you weren't staring at them."

"I don't need to stare. I'm a Kuchiki and I have a keen sense for individual reiatsu." Ryuu said archly. "The final individual with them was Endou Seimaru."

"Endou...?" Juushirou's eyes widened, and Ryuu nodded.

"Yes. Endou. Just like Hirata." He murmured. "Since the death of his father in an honour duel a year ago, Seimaru-dono has been the apparent heir to the Endou-ke. He has recently become betrothed to Shihouin Kai's older sister Midori. There is no clearer statement of alliance among Clans than marriage -and this appears to be coincidentally timed so soon after the Council of Elders and their ballot."

Juushirou's brows knitted together.

"But this is just a school." He murmured. "Can it matter that much, if three or four students from lower levels start being taught things? Soul Society is huge. The Clans have so many other concerns. Why would they be so bothered as to act like that? Surely it's not unusual for Clansfolk to marry one another? Shunsui's brother is half Shiba, after all. He grew up with Sora. Isn't this just another case of something like that?"

"It might be." Ryuu acknowledged. "But it's dangerous to assume so until you have clear evidence to prove it. I do not know whether Endou Hirata is the shy creature he claims to be or if it is all an elaborate part of some scheme - but what I do know is this. Endou Seimaru is not someone you wish to cross. No, nor even encounter face to face, if you can so avoid it. He is a nasty, vengeful creature - trained in all the ugly ways of his family, and worse. And though he is little older than you or I - it's commonly held that he was responsible for the mysterious disappearances of several of his Grandfather's key opponents in District Seven."

Juushirou stared at him for a moment, struggling to digest this, and Ryuu offered him a humourless smile.

"I do not believe the Endou-ke can be overcome by kindness." He murmured. "They are, after all, neighbours of our Kuchiki-ke and I am well versed in their ways and their behaviour. You should heed well my warnings, Ukitake. I do not give them lightly."

"So it was _Seimaru-dono_ that Hirata was so afraid of?" Juushirou murmured, and Ryuu shrugged.

"Maybe. Either because he fears him or because he fears his own position being uncovered. I do not know which." He responded evenly. "I hope your faith in him is justified, Ukitake. Sometimes, after all, the ties of Clan are just too strong to break."

"What are you two whispering about back here?"

Before Juushirou could respond, Enishi poked his head around the end of the bay, casting them a grin. "Found anything to buy?"

"Nothing that isn't already in the library at school." Juushirou shook his head, hurriedly gathering his wits as Hirata emerged from behind his tall classmate. "We were just coming to look for you both. I'm hungry - do you think we should think about getting something to eat?"

"For a skinny guy, you have one hell of an appetite, Ukitake." Enishi looked rueful. "But I don't have any complaints. Kuchiki? Hirata? You guys game?"

"I have no objections." Ryuu agreed, sending Juushirou a fleeting glance before nodding his head. "Though I don't know what level of services this town provides - for once, I suppose, it won't matter to eat in a place such as this."

Hirata looked hesitant, but he made no demur as they stepped back out into the spring air. The way in which he glanced around him did not escape Juushirou's notice, however, and he bit his lip, wondering for the most fleeting of instants whether there was any reason for Ryuu's suspicions.

Then, the next moment, he quelled them, berating himself inwardly for being so easily swayed from his convictions.

_Whatever else happens in the Endou-ke, Hirata is my friend. I know that. I believe that. Kuchiki-kun's warning may mean something, but even if it does, Hirata's not a part of it. And I'm not going to doubt him._

"Shiro-kun!"

As they turned onto the main street, another voice accosted them, and Juushirou froze in his steps at the all too familiar nickname, swinging around to see Megumi hurrying towards him, a warm, eager grin on her pretty face. Even from that distance, Juushirou could tell that she was not entirely in her wits, and as he interpreted the spasmodic flickers in the girl's aura, he remembered Shunsui's words about the girls and the consequences of the Urahara-ke's scientific research.

"_Shiro...kun_?" Ryuu's eyebrows disappeared into his fringe, and he stared at Juushirou accusingly. "What kind of things has Kyouraku been leading you into, Ukitake, to have a girl like that call you by such a familiar nickname?"

"None at all. We've met once before, and only briefly." Juushirou frowned. "But 'Shiro' seems to be a pretty universal nickname for me these days. Stopping was instinctive. It's because of my hair, Kuchiki-kun - not because my name's Juushirou. I doubt she even knows that."

"It_ is_ you! Shunsui-kun's friend!" Megumi was on them at that moment, grasping Juushirou's sleeves eagerly as she glanced around them. "Is he with you? I haven't seen him lately - is he in some kind of trouble?"

"Not exactly, but he's not been able to leave the school." Juushirou stared at her for a moment, the strong stench of her sweet perfume almost enough to suffocate him where he stood. He coughed slightly, gently detaching her fingers before the alluring odour could bring on one of his attacks, and as he held her at arm's length, he frowned.

"You don't look like you should be out and about, either." He murmured. "You should go home, Megumi-san, and get some rest. You'll be working tonight, no doubt, and you need to sleep too...there are shadows under your eyes."

Megumi shook her head impatiently, shrugging her shoulders.

"I'm fine. I'm not tired." She said dismissively. "But I knew it was you. You...and you...and you." She grinned, pointing unashamedly at first Enishi and then Hirata, who shrank back behind his tall friend at being singled out. "You were all with Shunsui-kun the last time. So you're good friends of his. Right?"

"I suppose, something like that." Enishi responded. "Why? Did you have a message for him?"

"I just wanted to be sure he hadn't forgotten about the two coins he promised me. That's all." Megumi pouted. "A lot of people are short on their debts these days, but Shunsui-kun always keeps his word, so..."

"It's a bit tricky for him to get out of campus at the moment, Megumi-san." Juushirou looked rueful. "He's under interdict - he's not allowed to step outside the grounds on pain of horrible punishment. It's not that he doesn't intend to keep his promise...he's just not been anywhere in a while. He's not avoiding you."

"I see." Megumi sighed. "Oh well. I guess it can't be helped. Rich types get into trouble a lot, after all."

She shrugged, eying Juushirou for a moment, then smiling.

"_You _wouldn't know that, though, would you?" She said frankly. "You're not one of them - I can tell."

"No, I'm really not." Juushirou agreed evenly. "So I'm afraid I don't have any coins to give you, either. Not even on his behalf - I don't have that kind of money."

"I dread to think _what _Kyouraku was giving her coins for." Ryuu said at that moment, a look of censure in his grey eyes, and Juushirou pursed his lips, noticing the stiffness of his companion's demeanour. "Girls like this are not the kind of people Noble sons should be consorting with - under any circumstances. Such meetings could only be misunderstood, after all."

"Shunsui promised her two gold coins if she helped us escape from the Curfew Patrol. That's all." Juushirou said simply. "It's not what you think, Kuchiki-kun."

"Kuchiki?" Megumi's hazy eyes lit up greedily at the sound of the Clan name, and she abandoned Juushirou, pouncing on Ryuu instead and grasping him by the arm. "You're a Kuchiki? Really?"

"Let go of me!" Ryuu looked stricken, shaking his arm frantically, but Megumi's grip was firm, and and at his expression, Juushirou hid a smile, a flare of mischief sparking up inside of him.

_Well, he brought it on himself, in a way. Maybe it's mean, but he's entirely too focused on Clan affairs and high society. He needs to lighten up a little...and see the world outside of Noble politics for a change._

"Yes, he's Kuchiki Ryuu." He said innocently. "Maybe, if you ask him nicely, he'll be able to give you the coins on Shunsui's behalf."

"_Ukitake?!_" Incredulation flooded Ryuu's normally austere grey eyes, and Enishi chuckled, shaking his head.

"Go on, Kuchiki. It won't hurt your finances any, and the kid's been waiting weeks as it is." He put in. "Keep Shunsui's word for him and you'll find she stops hanging on to you like a lost dog, too - it's the easiest way out of it."

"G...g...give money to a creature like _this_? You must be kidding!" Ryuu stammered out, revulsion and disbelief in his expression. "Let go of me, you silly girl! I'm not the kind of person you can simply..."

"Kuchiki-kun, your family are Gotei, aren't they?" Juushirou said softly, and Ryuu started, staring at him in confusion.

"What has that to do with...?"

"The principle duty of the Gotei, so my sensei taught me when I was growing up, is to protect. To defend people from the dangers the Hollows pose. Yes?"

"Yes, but..."

"And those strong, noble Gotei are selected from the Eight Clans, who rule Seireitei and serve the people who live under their protection." Juushirou continued calmly. "Isn't that also correct?"

"Without a doubt, however..."

"_Megumi-san_ is a citizen of Seireitei." Juushirou said innocently. "And she's asking a Noble son for help. Are you going to refuse her, when she's already been disappointed?"

Ryuu just gaped, unable to find a retort, and Enishi smirked.

"That's truly evil, Ukitake." He said, slipping his fingers into his _obi_ and pulling out a coin. "But I'll put up half of it, just for seeing Kuchiki struck speechless."

He tossed it up in the air, catching it deftly in his other hand, then holding it out. "Here you are, Megumi-san. Half of what Kyouraku promised."

"You know what she'll go and spend it on, don't you?" Ryuu demanded, but he seemed to realise he was beaten, for he reluctantly produced a coin of his own, dropping it down on the ground as he pulled himself firmly away from Megumi's touch. "We do her no good by giving her money."

"I wonder about that." As Megumi eagerly gathered up the coins, Juushirou pursed his lips, his mind on what Shunsui had said that night in the drinking house. He watched the girl scurry away once more into the back streets with her prize, and a sad expression touched his gaze.

"Maybe she'll use it for illicit chemicals, and not for food or shelter." He murmured. "But if it's given to her, she doesn't have to risk her life to steal it, nor demean herself to earn it. Megumi-san is a person too, Kuchiki-kun. Even if you think she's a miserable specimen of one. She has feelings too. And I'm sure, somewhere inside, she still has pride."

Kuchiki's eyes shadowed.

"My Clan would not approve." He murmured, and Juushirou nodded.

"I know." he said frankly. "But Shunsui told me that the chemicals girls like her use are the result of a Noble experiment now discarded. So in that respect, I don't think it's wrong for the Clans to take responsibility. Shunsui certainly feels that way, and I agree with him."

He shrugged.

"If I had had the coins, I would've given them." he said honestly. "But two gold coins is more than I have even for the whole of this school year. So I'm sorry it fell to you - but I thought that Shunsui would probably want us to honour his promise. And he'll no doubt pay you back, when he understands what happened."

Kuchiki sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"Forget about it." He said abruptly. "It doesn't matter. It isn't as though money is a problem for me - and at the very least, getting what she wanted made her leave us alone."

"If you hadn't been so aloof with her, she'd never have jumped on you like she did." Enishi said, with surprising perception. "Even if she's drugged, she's not stupid. She knew that meant you were Clan. And she latched onto it right away."

"Whereas she knew that Ukitake wasn't for the same reason." Ryuu's expression became startled. "Because he shows no discrimination in who he consorts with."

"Right now, I'm consorting with all of you - and I'm still hungry." Juushirou laughed. "I'm sorry if I put you in an awkward position, Kuchiki-kun, but just as you've told me about the Clans and their way of working, I want to repay the debt a little and tell you about the people below that line. There are a lot too many people like Megumi-san, after all. And I think the Clans could do something about it, if they wanted to."

"First District is _not_ the Kuchiki-ke's business." Ryuu said categorically, but from the look in his eyes, Juushirou knew he had hit a nerve, and he smiled.

"Then lets find food." He said decidedly. "Providing you and Houjou-kun still have coin to afford it!"

* * *

Four of them.

Kai cursed, peering out from his vantage point behind the curtain of an old chamber, biting down hard on his lip as he watched his classmates laughing and talking as they left the settlement's ancient book store.

Was it coincidence, then, that they had decided to come into town on _this_ free day? After their conversation that morning, Kai was far from sure.

His gaze rested on Hirata, and his frown deepened.

Maybe it was _that _one, after all. Maybe he had been right to be suspicious of the boy all along.

"You seem very much on edge today, Kai-kun."

His companion's smooth, soft voice distracted him, and he glanced up, his eyes clouding as Seimaru came to join him by the window. "In fact, you've been on edge since I came to First District. Are you that unhappy about meeting your future brother in law face to face? I would've thought you'd be glad to see I'm taking the matter seriously enough to come like this...it is, after all, far enough from my own family's lands."

Kai faltered, then bowed his head, raising his gaze to meet the all too familiar glint in his companion's pale eyes.

"I'm sorry, Seimaru-dono." He murmured. "You find me distracted by other matters, that is all."

"Other matters?" Seimaru frowned, placing his hands against the window casually as he gazed down at the street below. "What things would they be? At the present time, your family and mine are drawing up the paperwork for the alliance, and Midori and I will be married before the end of the summer, providing all proves to go well. Your family are only second degree Shihouin, but your sister will birth the next head of the Endou-ke. That should be all you need concern yourself with...don't you think that the Endou-ke can provide you with adequate protection?"

"With respect, the Shihouin do not require protection." Kai said shortly, and Seimaru laughed, amusement in his gaze.

"So I understand." He murmured. "Which is why this alliance has so much strength. Your people are very like mine, after all. Grandfather has oft said so, and having begun to meet with Clan representatives, I've seen as much too. Your sister will make an adequate addition to my family...even for a girl, she has quite good skills."

"Father has always insisted on all of us learning." Kai turned his gaze back to the window. "Midori as well. Uncle trained her personally, in fact, after Mother died."

"It's a good thing." Seimaru reflected. "For a woman to be able to hold her own. I dislike helpless, weak women, after all. They make me disdain them, and then I hold their lives as worth little. So long as they do not intervene in the acts of their superiors, of course..."

His eyes narrowed, and even though he wasn't directly looking at his companion, Kai stiffened, aware of the tension that rippled through the young boy's body.

"Women should mind their own business and stay out of Clan affairs of this nature." He muttered. "Their duty is to obey and to uphold the family pride. Not to play judge and jury over a family's conscience."

He rested his hand on Kai's shoulder, the cold touch seeming to burn through the younger boy's senses to the very core of his soul. He shivered involuntarily, and Seimaru chuckled, amused.

"I think you're afraid of me." He whispered. "Why would that be?"

Kai did not answer, and Seimaru shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not unwise." he reflected. "Fear is a smart man's weapon, if that man is also weak."

"I'm not weak, Seimaru-dono." This sparked Kai's pride, and he shook his head. "And I'm not afraid of you. I just don't think you realise how complicated this alliance is for me. That's all."

"Why?" Seimaru seemed genuinely surprised. "Because of your placement at that joke of a school of Yamamoto's?"

Kai's gaze drifted back to Hirata.

"A cousin of yours is my classmate." He murmured. "And I would like to know, Seimaru-dono, whether you keep me under observation in that way. Because if you don't trust me..."

Seimaru's eyes narrowed, as he followed his companion's glance.

"Hirata." He murmured. "I see. And a boy such as that frightens you?"

"I don't understand his being here, if the Endou are so against the school."

"The same could be said of you, Kai, and also your kinsman Aitori." Seimaru said silkily, and Kai's lips thinned.

"I was sent because it was my Uncle's order." He said softly. "And Aitori for the same reason. Besides, the Shihouin do not disdain the Academy. They disapprove of the intake of lower born children, that is all. Your kin, however..."

"Clan should be trained by Clan. There is no reason for an Endou to learn skills anywhere but Seventh District." Seimaru agreed. "But Hirata..."

He paused, then chuckled, shaking his head.

"No Endou ever acts without having an ulterior motive." He said lightly. "You will simply have to discover that boy's for yourself. If it satisfies you to think he is my spy, then you may think that. If you wish to think otherwise, be my guest. So long as you do your part of the agreement, then it matters little to me what your personal opinions are. Just make sure that you don't cause us trouble."

"_You _might be the one in trouble, Seimaru-dono." Kai's eyes narrowed as he watched Megumi's encounter with the group. "That girl is with them. The one Aitori's been using up till now - the one you spoke to yourself only last evening. It seems she's acquainted with them - with Ukitake in particular."

"Ukitake?" Seimaru looked confused, and Kai nodded.

"The boy of low birth who gained rank in our class." He said softly. "He is not Clan, but he is also not foolish. He is irritatingly intelligent...and he managed to best Kuchiki Ryuu in a battle of sticks."

"So have you, I understand, on many occasions?"

"Yes, but Kuchiki's skills are not mediocre." Kai said impatiently. "I am simply superior to him. Ukitake, however..."

"So _that _is the boy, then, is it?" Seimaru's expression suddenly became one of interest as he focused his attention on the group once more. "I see. Yes. I do see. And this is the one your family are so afraid of they choose to ally with a Clan they hate in order to prevent his like from rising up through the system? When will the assassination order come, Kai-kun? I know how your people work. Surely he's on someone's list, somewhere...?"

"No. No such order has been given." Kai said coldly. "My duty is to keep an eye on him - and the others who have come here. But him in particular. And if he knows that girl too, Seimaru-dono, surely..."

"You are foolish." Seimaru tut-tutted under his breath. "I'm not concerned about him knowing Megumi. In fact, it works well in our favour that he should have such an acquaintance. Don't you think?"

"But...?"

"He is low-born, yet he has high reiatsu." Seimaru let out a low-throated chuckle, clearly highly amused with his own way of thinking. "There were many in my Clan who talked about it before you came here and began reporting in such a stellar way on our behalf - and this simply strengthens their paranoid beliefs. A low-born boy with power he shouldn't have, speaking to a girl who depends on things she shouldn't dabble in. Do you see, Kai, how convenient such a link could be?"

Kai frowned.

"Ukitake isn't using sense-enhancing drugs." He said flatly. "If he was, I'd have realised it by now. I'm sure he isn't. There's no sign of it in his reiatsu."

"Yes. Quite clearly you're right." Seimaru nodded. "But you have a keen sense, and I am the heir of my Clan. Lesser members of Clan families – even our own, dare I say it? - may not be so perceptive. After all, you and I are both intimately acquainted with the taint of such drugs, aren't we?"

He touched Kai's cheek pensively, a thoughtful look in his gaze.

"Let's not forget how many disgruntled Urahara scientists were exiled into Second and Fourth Districts after the chemical experiments were officially cancelled." He murmured. "Nor the fact that Grandfather's own mother was an Urahara by blood, who supported the experiments wholesale at the time. It's hardly surprising, is it, that those individuals have found such safe new homes in both Second and Seventh Districts, where they can continue their work without fear of intervention."

His smile widened.

"You're aware enough to know that it was _your_ Clan who originally forged papers to allow those scientists to move freely and set up new bases without being noticed." He murmured. "And thanks to the Shihouin's underground activities, there are now people within _both_ of our Districts who have continued to develop and produce such chemicals even to this day - people who have acted with the interests, funding and support of the Clans concerned."

His eyes narrowed, a predatory glint in their depths.

"Clansfolk like _your_ _Father,_ perhaps."

Kai stiffened, glancing around him fearfully, and Seimaru laughed.

"There is no one listening. This building is Aitori's property, and even he isn't here." He said soothingly. "This is a secret between you and I, Kai-kun. However..."

He turned his gaze back to the group below.

"That boy's reiatsu is strong, but his _reiryoku_ is raw and untrained. I suspect he has very little control over it." He mused. "Using chemicals would be wholly counter-productive, given that that's the case. With a reiatsu of that level and no control, it would doubtless do him much more harm than good - and you said, did you not, that he was intelligent? Besides, he seems a miserable specimen - no doubt his spirit power controls him and not the other way about."

He smiled.

"I think it will be easier to remove that problem than Grandfather anticipated." He decided. "Even if your Ukitake _doesn't _use illicit chemicals, there are only a very few who would be able to discern that from his aura alone. And there are many among the Noble classes who would prefer to accept an anomaly as being down to illegal means rather than being forced to accept that anyone from low birth may have such natural talent. He looks like a sickly boy to me - if he becomes troublesome, then all you need to do is begin the rumour that he's cheated his way to the level he is. Don't you think?"

"Genryuusai-sensei would never believe it." Kai said softly, and Seimaru shrugged.

"Who cares what that old man believes?" He said carelessly.

"Noone's talked about those chemicals in public for years." Kai shook his head. "If we were to start, even to blacken the name of one boy…Sensei would start drawing connections and things would become difficult. Father would not want me to do anything so blatant to draw attention to him, Uncle or our Clan's activities – you won't find _me_ starting any such rumour, even if it is to your benefit. With respect, Seimaru-dono, the Shihouin are not going to be scapegoats for every Endou scheme."

"Well, at present that boy is unimportant to my Grandfather, so I doubt it matters too much that you feel that way." Seimaru shrugged his shoulders dismissively. "It can wait for a better opportunity – as you say, one that links less closely to our alliance and your involvement. But try and see the big picture, Kai-kun. If things go according to our plans, the great Genryuusai-sama and his so called reputation will become an irrelevance anyway, and then it won't matter. And if enough Clan believe it, then that's enough to have the boy disgraced and removed, surely? Just because you won't spread such stories doesn't mean they won't spread. There are still many living who remember what we do not, after all. If that happens, the ballot will be rendered a joke and in the end the result will be greater, for all low-born children will be thrown into suspicion, won't they?"

"I...suppose so." Kai bit his lip, seeing the logic in his companion's clinical argument, yet deep down inside he was still somehow uneasy at Seimaru's choice of words. "If it was well known that such a thing had happened - no one would ever sanction low-born District children from being trained again, would they?"

"And that objective would be achieved with little bloodshed - though that might disappoint a Shihouin." Seimaru's eyes glittered. "Still, that's for the future, and outside of our immediate objectives. We are not concerned with minnows for the time being, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. And in the meantime..."

He paused, running his finger down the glass, and Kai felt a flicker of something sinister in his companion's dark aura.

"That girl is becoming a liability. I will have to think about whether she's still worth utilising." He murmured. "Her position so close to the Academy has been helpful, and she is not naturally foolish, but even providing her with chemicals and using her as a source of information on the school has become risky. We have you now, after all. She's no longer so necessary."

A humourless smile touched his lips.

"I imagine there are things she's discovered that you will be less able to pry free, considering her arsenal." He said derisively. "But even so, a man on the inside is worth two women on the outskirts. And it would be troublesome if she was traced back to my family...if people realised that her activities had any connection to the Endou-ke, it might be difficult to explain - especially why we still had such an active interest in banned substances. I will give this some thought, Kai-kun. Leave it with me."

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"Continue to do what you were sent to the school to do." Seimaru said simply. "That is all you need concern yourself with. Let Clan leaders and their heirs handle the bigger matters. It's our job, after all."

"And if Genryuusai-sensei discovers that Aitori's been using his base and contacts here to export ingredients only found in First District into Second and Seventh for these ongoing chemical experiments, what then?" Kai demanded. "If he has wind of what our Clans are involved in, he might cause all kinds of problems. He's not someone who can be underestimated, Seimaru-dono! He's strong, after all - _and_ smart!"

"An old man whose years have made him reckless and complacent." Seimaru shook his head. "He believes that the Council's word acts as a final declaration - and that is naive. He is a Yamamoto, after all. He does not live in the shadows. That is why our alliance with your Clan becomes so useful - it's very difficult, after all, to entrap a shadow."

"Even if they're operating right under his nose?" Kai frowned. "You say that, but if he sees Aitori and I together too often..."

"Aitori's been operating as a smuggler for your Clan for some time and there has been no risk of him being caught." Seimaru's eyes became like flint. "He is a smart man with a good sense of self-preservation and he has gained the old man's trust enough to move freely around First District without arousing any suspicion. _You_ are the weak link in this chain, not him, so make sure you stay strong and nothing bad will come of it. Do your job and continue to spy. Let Aitori feed back the information through his channels, and let me deal with the girl. Do not try to become involved in more than your brief, Kai. I mean it. Your Clan may be assassins, but I am not afraid to remove individuals myself if they get in the way of Endou interests. Whether it be you or your very pretty sister. You understand?"

Despite himself, Kai was chilled to the bone by the ice in his companion's cold eyes, and he slowly nodded his head, a memory of Midori's uncharacteristic tears flitting through his thoughts.

"I'm not a weak link. I'm Shihouin till I die and if I die, then it'll be in that Clan's name." He said quietly. "You needn't worry about me, Seimaru-dono. I won't be the one to let the side down. You have my word."


	9. A Cry For Help

**Chapter Eight: A Cry For Help**

"You know, you're not as bad at Kidou as you think you are, Houjou-kun."

As the two boys made their way along the narrow hallway towards the students' common room, Juushirou shot Enishi a warm grin, spreading his hands to illustrate his point. "You keep on joking about setting the school on fire, but you hit one target out of three and you didn't make any spells backfire on you this time. You should have more confidence in yourself."

It was a month since practical lessons had begun for the First Year students, and, as Enishi had woefully predicted, from the very start he had found the spells and incantations difficult. Although he had a high reiatsu and a level of control over it that left Juushirou often envious, his habit of fudging or muddling up the incantations had already brought him in for lashings under Kazoe's sharp tongue and even sharper baton, and as a result he had been ordered to come back on his free afternoon to go over them until he had them more firmly wedged in his brain. Juushirou had elected to come with him, for he knew that such activities were generally less boring with a friend, and besides, he was acutely aware of his own weaknesses in the firing range, too.

"You have strength and accuracy but sometimes you lack control," Kazoe had told him at the end of the previous class, after a particularly strong flare of magic had left him coughing and gasping for breath. "If you don't master your reiatsu, it will master you instead, Ukitake. Think on that for a while."

Juushirou had done so, and as a result he had decided that the more practice he got the better. He was determined not to fall behind his classmates in any respect – Ryuu's words and warnings having never fully left his thoughts – and so it had been two students, not one, who had reported to Kazoe's classroom after their midday meal.

Kazoe had been neither surprised nor displeased to see his District-born student voluntarily turn up for extra help, and had offered plenty of useful advice and tips for the both of them, leaving Juushirou feeling that even though it had meant sacrificing his free time, it had been an afternoon well spent.

"You think so?" Enishi asked now, gazing at his fingers pensively. "It doesn't come naturally to me. You say I hit one in three, but not square on like you or Kuchiki seem to be able to. In fact, everyone else has a higher hit ratio than I do. It's sort of pitiful really, when you think of it that way. And the spells are so long and complicated too – I'm sure I'll never be able to get them down without having to sneak a peek at someone's notes."

Juushirou chuckled, shaking his head.

"Not everyone." He pointed out. "Shunsui-kun still hasn't been let into the Arena – and even though he turns up for the practical Kidou classes with the rest of us, he's always tied to a desk in the classroom with a pile of Kazoe-sensei's oldest looking books. At least you're not in that position, Houjou-kun – in comparison, he has it a lot rougher."

"Maybe." Enishi acknowledged, a faint flicker of amusement touching his own expression. "Though I've seen Kyouraku pile up the books around him and then take a nap when Kazoe-sensei's busy with us outside…so I'm not sure he's working particularly hard even now."

"I guess for Shunsui, him turning up to class is a victory in itself." Juushirou mused. "But what I mean is, by the time he gets to begin practical Kidou, we'll all be streets ahead of him and he'll have a lot to catch up. You're not behind – you just need fine tuning. That's all."

"Perhaps you're right." Enishi shrugged. "But I still think it'll be a while before I can confidently spout a spell without having crib notes in my _obi_."

"Kazoe-sensei wasn't amused when he caught you using those last lesson." Juushirou reflected. "That's why he called you back to practice again this afternoon. But it's just a case of doing it over and over. You've almost got _shakka-hou_ down – haven't you?"

"Maybe." Enishi acknowledged, casting his friend a grin. "Thank you for coming with me, by the way. Kazoe's quick and he doesn't always explain the things I don't understand. But you do, so it's easier to get through it without causing a major disaster."

"No problem." Juushirou returned the grin warmly. "I like Kidou. And it helped me too, in any case. Besides, Kazoe-sensei didn't mind."

"That's because, Kuchiki aside, you're his star pupil." Enishi pulled a graphic face, and Juushirou snorted, shaking his head.

"It's not as easy for me as it looks either, you know." He objected, remembering the surging rush of reiatsu that had flooded through him the first time he had voiced the incantation. "Just because I aimed it straight doesn't mean my control is as good as Kuchiki-kun's, either. It takes a lot of concentration to do it properly…otherwise _I'd_ be the one setting fire to the Arena."

"You _are_ damn strong for a skinny guy." Enishi acknowledged. "And you _did_ cough and splutter a bit last session, granted. I thought that was probably from smoke, though – was I wrong?"

"A combination of smoke and over-eagerness, probably." Juushirou said ruefully. "It's all very well knowing you only need so much of your strength to do something, but I have to be so exact about it else it brings on a coughing fit. It's a pain – Genryuusai-sensei thinks in the long run it'll mean that my control is better than anyone else's and so I'll have an advantage…but right now it's a little hit and miss and I end up with a sore throat more than I ought to."

"That's rough." Enishi looked sympathetic. "I guess when you've spent a bunch of time sick, it takes a while to get back to full strength, huh? How long ago did you say it was? Eighteen months? A year?"

"Two, pretty much, since I was confined to my room." Juushirou's eyes clouded at the memory. "But like you say, it never leaves you. My lungs are always funny, anyway – I was born that way – so it doesn't take much to make me cough."

He smiled, forcing the thoughts away.

"But a little coughing here and there's no big deal." He said pragmatically.

"Right." Enishi agreed. "And even if your chest is messed up, your brain isn't any. You're good at classes – and with Kidou you at least can remember the words."

"Mm. I _can_ do that." Juushirou agreed, flexing and curling his fingers as he remembered the afternoon's session. "So the more I practice, the more easily I'll be able to fire controlled blasts. A little extra study doesn't hurt, though. In the four weeks we've been learning practical Kidou, I've only just got _shakka-hou_ to a point where I'm happy firing it more than once in sequence. Now he's begun adding _soukatsui_ to the lesson plan, I've got to begin all over again – and I'm not planning on being left behind."

"You already know the incantation for _soukatsui_?" Enishi blinked, and Juushirou nodded.

"That side of it isn't a problem." He agreed wryly, as they reached the common room. "It's not that different from _shakka-hou_ up to a point, in any case. It's really only half an incantation to learn, Houjou-kun."

"And that's why I'm going to get confused." Enishi groaned, shoving the sliding door back as a cacophony of student voices drifted out into the hallway beyond. "_Because _they're similar up to that point. Great. I mightn't have caused an explosion yet, Ukitake, but give me time."

"You two _are_ industrious this afternoon." As they made their way inside, Shunsui cast them an amused grin from his corner by the window, sprawled out across the cold floor on his expensive winter cloak. "Going to Kidou classes that even _I'm_ not required to attend – it's bad for you, you know, not to take a day off now and again."

"You're the expert on that." Juushirou returned neatly. "As it happens, we had a good afternoon."

"Well, I can think of a thousand ways I'd rather spend my time, but whatever suits." Shunsui shrugged lazily. "You made it out of there in one piece, at least. I'm not sure the same can be said about me, however – Kuchiki-kun's been showing me all the holes in my defence system without me even leaving the common room."

He gestured to the board on the floor in front of him, and Juushirou frowned, dropping down alongside him and casting him a quizzical glance.

"Shougi?" He asked curiously, and Ryuu nodded.

"A simple game." He said, brushing the pieces together with a shrug. "Kyouraku really isn't much of a challenge, however. He doesn't try to win – actually, perhaps he does the opposite."

"Are you saying I'm _letting _you beat me?" Shunsui snorted. "You're overestimating my abilities, Ryuu-kun. I never saw much point in Shougi and I've the proud record of having been beaten by all my surviving kin at the game at one point or another. I'll just add this defeat to my belt and soldier on."

Ryuu's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head.

"If you think I'm fooled by that, you're stupid." He said archly. "You can play just fine, which I can tell by the strategies you use. Or rather, which you actively choose _not_ to use. It's as if you see the way forward into the confrontation and then deliberately take the opposing action. That isn't naivety or inexperience. I'd almost think you were mocking me – if I didn't know this was how you were with everything else, too."

"He's a cruel partner, Juushirou." Shunsui adopted a mock-pitiful look. "Now you're here, you play him instead of me. I'm sure you'll give him a better game, anyway, and Hirata-kun's been engrossed in his book for the last hour."

"Hirata-kun?" Juushirou looked surprised, noticing the quiet boy for the first time as, at the sound of his name, he raised his head.

"I don't really like Shougi." He said softly. "The strategies are repetitive after a while – I suppose I find it boring."

"How is it boring?" Ryuu was clearly offended by this. "If you play it properly, there is nothing to be bored about! It's a contest between two competing armies – there's not much different between what we learn in Genryuusai-sensei's Sakusen classes and what we do on the Shougi board, when it's all said and done!"

"You see what I've been dealing with?" Shunsui rolled his eyes. "I only said I'd play Kuchiki in the first place to keep the peace, but now you're here, you can take over. You're much better at the peace-keeping thing than I am – and besides, I'm no competition for Ryuu-sama's skill, since he's beaten me three times straight."

"Do you _know_ Shougi, Ukitake?" Ryuu cast him a doubtful look, and Juushirou nodded.

"My Father taught me, when I was little." He agreed. "And when I was ill, it was a good way to pass the time…so I got quite good at it. I managed to beat him and my sensei both, once or twice. The only person who used to give me a really fierce game was my sister Chihiro, to be honest – she took to it even more quickly than I did, and she used to like running me ragged around the whole board with her dragons and her horses."

"There you go, then. A perfect competition." Shunsui looked relieved, and Ryuu's eyes narrowed.

"I'm game." He said frankly. "But be warned, Ukitake – I will not underestimate you the way I did when we clashed _bokutou_ that first time. I am wise to you now – and you won't get off easy."

Juushirou grinned, holding up his hands in mock-surrender.

"I'm not looking to enter into a blood and brimstone war." He said hurriedly. "If you don't mind, can we postpone the match till later? I've had a long afternoon already – and if you're going to take it seriously, Kuchiki-kun, I'd rather be in full form to give you the best competition that I can."

Ryuu clicked his tongue against his teeth in irritation, but nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

"If you insist." He said simply. "I will hold you to it, though, so don't forget."

"Kuchiki's sure started hanging out with us a whole lot lately." Enishi observed tactlessly at that moment, stretching out his limbs with a satisfied sigh. "Ah, it feels good not to have Kazoe glaring at me! And so have you, Kyouraku – it's like our three's becoming five, all of a sudden – don't you think?"

Ryuu's features flooded red at this, and Shunsui grinned.

"Enishi-kun, I don't think you should've said it _quite_ like that." He said wryly. "Even if it is true."

"If my company bothers you, I can easily go to the library and study." Ryuu said stiffly, and Juushirou shook his head.

"That's not what Houjou-kun meant." He said quickly. "He was just observing. Noone minds that it's the case. You said you wanted us to have a better understanding second time over, and I think we have one, don't we? Houjou-kun didn't mean that you – or Shunsui – should go away."

"Of course I didn't!" Enishi's eyes widened at that point, and he shook his head. "Sorry, Kuchiki – I wasn't trying to imply anything like that. I just think it's nice, is all. That people are starting to spend more time together."

"If you ask me, it looks like a potential meeting of the naughty boys club." Sora's voice cut across the conversation at that point, as the petite girl slipped down between Shunsui and Hirata, offering her classmates a grin. "Especially if Shunsui's involved – didn't I warn people enough that he's trouble waiting to happen?"

"Yes, but he's generally trouble on his own time, so it's fine." Enishi grinned back. "Hi, Sora. Do _you_ want to play Kuchiki at Shougi? It looks like he's burning for a battle, and I'm useless at it."

"Shougi, huh?" Sora looked quizzical, then shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, I don't mind. But watch out, Kuchiki-kun. I'm no soft touch at strategy games."

"Me either." Ryuu's pride flared up at this and he reached across to gather the scattered pieces. "Very well. I will challenge you, Shiba-san. And we will see who prevails."

"Fine." Sora pulled a face. "But if I win, you have to quit with the honorifics. Okay?"

"I don't see what the problem is." Ryuu said archly. "I am merely addressing you as a young woman from a neighbouring Clan of near equal wealth and influence should be addressed."

"And I'm getting sick of it." Sora said heavily. "So that's the deal, okay? If I can beat you at Shougi, you start using my proper name and not my Clan name. Understood?"

Ryuu sighed, but shrugged his shoulders.

"If you so wish." He said reluctantly. "But I confess I still don't understand why you're so insistant."

"Hey, is Kyouraku Shunsui in here?"

At that moment the door of the common room slid back to reveal a student from the second class, and at the sight of him, Shunsui frowned, raising a lazy hand to indicate his presence.

"I'm here." He agreed. "What's up, Iwai-kun? You look shook up. Has something happened...?"

"I don't know. You tell me." Iwai Kenji said bluntly. "There's a girl in the grounds and she's looking for you. She's in a complete state and I don't think she's in her right mind. Kira and I were heading back from the gymnasium after our extra practice with Minabe and she pretty much fell across our path. Kira wanted to call staff, but the girl was adamant she spoke to you. When she found out I knew who you were, she begged me to come find you."

"A girl?" Ryuu's eyebrows arched, a reproving expression in his gaze, and Shunsui's frown deepened.

"This girl didn't happen to mention a name, did she?" He asked, getting to his feet, and Juushirou pursed his lips, noting the mix of emotions that flashed through his classmate's dark gaze. As Iwai shook his head, his concern became deeper, and he bit his lip, trying to rationalise the deep sense of foreboding that had welled up inside of his heart.

"Where is she now, Iwai-kun?" Shunsui asked, his tones somehow too level and calm as he scooped his cloak up from the floor, slipping it over his shoulders, and at his casual actions, Juushirou's foreboding grew.  
_  
Why are you taking your cloak if you're only going so far as the school gymnasium, Shunsui? It's not as though it's Winter ice out there._

"Behind the gymnasium." Iwai responded. "Kira's with her. Minabe'd gone so I figured it was better if she waited there. She wanted to come with me, but I figured that'd get you into a whole pile of trouble, and..."

"And Shunsui really _doesn't _need more of that." Sora cast him a dark look. "What have you been up to now, you idiot? Are you that brazen that you've got stray girls crying over you and demanding to see you even now?"

"I don't know what this is about." Shunsui said softly. "But I promise you, Sora, it's not that kind of acquaintance."

Juushirou cast him a look of consternation.

"Are you going to speak to her?" He asked, and Shunsui nodded.

"If she's come all this way, I think I should." He agreed grimly. "She's on campus, so it's not going to be breaking my curfew after all. And the sooner I go, the less likely Kira will get into trouble for it."

He cast Iwai a benign smile.

"Probably it's a matter of owed coins from a little trip I took into town a few weeks ago." He added. "My being tied to campus has meant I've not been able to make good on my word, and I suspect she's come looking for what she's promised. That's all."  
At his words, Juushirou's eyes narrowed.  
_  
What owed coins? My first thought was that it was Megumi-san – but Kuchiki-kun and Houjou-kun paid that debt already. Shunsui knows that…why would he say something if he knows it's not the case?_

_Unless it's not Megumi-san at all, but something else…?_

"Shunsui!" Sora grimaced, and Shunsui shrugged again.

"Just a slight oversight." He said lightly. "Calm down, Sora-chan. It's nothing more sinister than that."

As he took in the tension that ran through his companion's body, Juushirou had the distinct impression that it was a _lot _more sinister.

He hesitated, then got to his feet.

"I'll come with you." He decided, and Shunsui shot him a startled look.

"Juushirou?"

"If you have a witness, no one can accuse you of anything." Juushirou offered him a rueful smile. "After all, even on campus, I don't know as Genryuusai-sensei'd be amused. It's all right, isn't it, Shunsui-kun? You don't mind some company?"

Shunsui eyed him for a moment, then he shrugged.

"If you fancy the walk, I've nothing to hide." He said casually. "By all means, come."

He cast Iwai a grin.

"Thanks for the message, Iwai-kun." He added. "I'll take it from here. Do me a favour and don't report it to anyone, okay? She'll go soon, after all - once she's got what she came for, she won't come here again."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to rat." Iwai shook her head, a playful glitter in his own gaze. "She was real pretty, though...I guess I can understand owing a couple of coins if it's a girl like that."

He winked, and from behind them, Juushirou heard Sora's heavy sigh. Shunsui ignored her however, taking Juushirou by the arm and leading him nonchalantly out of the common room and into the hall beyond.

Once there, however, Juushirou's eyes narrowed.

"Do you think it's Megumi-san?" He murmured, and Shunsui's shot him a sidelong glance. He nodded his head.

"That seems the most likely thing." He agreed. "So you realised that, huh?"

"Yes, although you know that Houjou-kun and Kuchiki-kun already squared your debt for you, so it didn't make sense to me why you'd lie so deliberately." Juushirou responded. "It made me suspicious – and I was worried about it. That you might be involved in something – or that there was something going on with Megumi-san that we didn't know about, after all."

"Do you think I lied to you, then, about the depth of our acquaintance?" Shunsui looked surprised, and Juushirou hesitated for a moment, considering this carefully. At length he sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't think you're a liar." He reflected. "You're evasive and silly, sometimes. But outright lies aren't really your style. Perhaps it bothered me more, because of that."

"I see." Shunsui pursed his lips. "Is that why you're playing chaperon, then? Because you think it could be a compromising situation if anyone was to catch the two of us alone?"

"You don't need any more trouble than you already have, that's all." Juushirou shrugged. "I know you haven't broken curfew again since Genryuusai-sensei spoke to you, Shunsui, but even so..."

"A girl like that in a place like this is a bit hard to explain. I know." Shunsui pursed his lips. "But there is no other girl that springs to mind – not in this locality, in any case."

He grimaced.

"And that's why it's bothering _me_, to be honest." He owned. "Megumi might be doped a lot of the time, but she's smart with it. She knows that invading the school would be bad for her business. After all, she has a lot more clients here than just us that night. I've had her serve me drinks, and she likes my coin. But she's probably provided more risky favours to others and if she was to appear here they'd take fright and distance themselves from her services completely. Which means..."

"Something has happened?" Juushirou paled, and Shunsui shrugged, pushing open the door that led out towards the gymnasium.

"Sounds it, doesn't it?" He said grimly. "But you know that too. I can see it in your eyes, Juushirou - I don't need to explain it to you."

"No..." Juushirou bit his lip. "I can't explain it, but it gave me...a bad feeling. As you said, Megumi-san didn't seem foolish. Even when we saw her in town the last time, though she was obviously out of her wits, she was smart enough to realise who Kuchiki-kun was and that we were acquaintances of yours. But from the way Iwai-kun described her..."

He frowned.

"But why _you_? You've not left the school in over a month, have you?"

"Nope. I've been good as gold on that count – I've not broken Yama-jii's curfew once." Shunsui shook his head.

"Then it's been over a month since Megumi-san saw you." Juushirou pointed out. "Of all people, why would she come to _you_?"

"Because I don't exploit her the way others do, maybe." Shunsui shrugged helplessly. "Or because I don't lie to her. If I give her my word, I keep it. So she trusts me."

"Even after so few meetings?"

"I suppose so." Shunsui seemed to be chewing this over. "Before I was caught out, I probably went to her establishment six or seven times in all – including the trip you took with me. In a world where there's scarce little trust to give or be given, a client who's up front and honest is probably the best she's going to get. Aside from her colleagues, Megumi's on her own. She has no family or friends outside of the business she works in. So who else would she turn to? If she's in trouble, she'd look to someone who she thought had some influence. And students from this school are almost entirely people with potential influence. It's not so crazy."

Juushirou's eyes clouded, and he nodded.

"I suppose so." He murmured. "It's still so sad, though."

"The world is a sad place, no matter what level you're born into." Shunsui offered him a faint grin. "It's one of those irritating things about growing up. You can't hide from those things any longer."

"But maybe you can stop or change them." Juushirou murmured pensively. He did not see the surprised glance his companion shot his way, however, for at that moment Kira Hideharu emerged from behind the gymnasium's stonework, casting them both apprehensive glances.

"You came, then." He murmured. "Iwai told you?"

"He did." Shunsui nodded. "Where is she?"

"In the cluster of trees behind the rear exit." Kira looked nervous. "She wouldn't tell me anything except that she wanted to speak to you."

"It's fine. You can leave it to us now then." Shunsui offered him a grin, and Juushirou marvelled at the calm composure in his friend's expression. "Though I'd rather you didn't mention it to anyone else, Kira-kun - if you don't mind. It's a little debt I racked up a few weeks ago and, being confined to campus, I've not been able to pay her back for it. That's all. These things catch up with you after a while."

"I see." Kira frowned. "I won't tell tales, but...you should be more careful, Kyouraku-kun. Next time it might be a teacher she stumbles on."

With that he was gone across the grass, putting as much distance between him and them as possible, and Shunsui let out a low whistle.

"There's a kid who's never had anything to do with women." He reflected absently, and Juushirou frowned.

"The Kira-ke are neighbours of mine." He responded. "More likely he's just frightened out of his wits about being kicked out of a place like this because, like me, he hasn't got the high placed connections to buy him out of trouble."

"Yet you're here with me, even so?" Shunsui sent him a questioning glance, and Juushirou nodded.

"Of course." He agreed. "_I'm_ not afraid of being kicked out. If there's a problem, we'll just explain to Genryuusai-sensei and let him resolve it. He's not unfair, after all."

"You really do have a naive faith in the system, sometimes."

"It's better than being cynical of everything." Juushirou responded simply. "Are we going? The girl's waiting, and the longer she's here the more likely there'll be trouble over it."

"Yes, boss." Shunsui saluted playfully, but a smile had touched his lips and Juushirou was glad to see some of the shadowing leave his dark eyes. "I'm right with you."

As they rounded the big gym building and entered the cluster of trees, however, Juushirou soon realised that their assumptions had been mistaken. The girl who was huddled beneath the tree was a stranger to him, her thick chestnut hair tangled and loose over her shoulders and her face a mess of streaked make-up and tears. At their approach she started, gazing up at them fearfully, and with a jolt Juushirou realised that amid the ripped fabric of her gown there were distinct spots of something else...something that looked alarmingly like blood. Sure enough, as they drew closer, Juushirou could see the long, red scratches against the visitor's pale, delicate skin, and despite himself, indignation welled up inside of him as he felt the fluctuating fear and trauma that danced across her feeble reiatsu.

He glanced at Shunsui, whose gaze had already darkened once more, and as his classmate dropped down on the grass, Juushirou realised that this girl wasn't an unknown to his friend.

"Kyouko-chan." He murmured. "That's a surprise - I didn't expect it to be you. I rather thought it might be Megumi - what are you doing here?"

"M...M..Megumi told me...if I came...you'd help." Kyouko choked out, her eyes still swimming with tears as she grasped hold of Shunsui's wrists, clinging onto them desperately as she gazed at him with a mixture of despair and hope. "Please...Shunsui-kun. You have to...help Megumi. Please."

Shunsui stiffened at this, and he reached across to brush the fresh tears from the girl's cheeks.

"Megumi's in trouble?" He asked softly, and Kyouko nodded.

"We both were." She choked out. "Men came and...and grabbed us. Both of us. But I kicked one and...and I got away. And Megumi told me...to find you. That you'd be able to help."

"Someone _kidnapped_ you?" Juushirou's eyes widened, and Kyouko started, staring at him as though seeing him for the first time.

"Who...who's this?" She asked faintly, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Someone I trust." He said briefly. "It's all right. He's no harm to you, Kyouko. Quite the opposite, in fact."

"What happened, Kyouko-san?" Juushirou settled himself down on the girl's other side, and she cast him a glance before slowly shaking her head.

"I don't know, not really." She murmured. "Megumi...she had a debt to collect, so she...but it wasn't..."

She faltered, rubbing her temples.

"My mind isn't clear at the moment." She said honestly. "I'm not thinking as well as I could. But...Megumi...lately she'd been making more coin than the rest of us. Not just from people like you, Shunsui-kun, or her other clients - there was something else. But she wouldn't tell me about it. She said it was...something secret and that so long as she kept it that way, she'd keep getting paid."

"Something secret?" Shunsui and Juushirou exchanged looks, then, "And you've no idea what it was?"

"No, except that the last two coins he promised her he didn't pay when she expected him to." Kyouko shook her head. "He was late one time before, apparently, and she thought it was that way again – but even though she kept asking him, he never kept his word. She was cross about it, and she went to tell him that if he didn't pay her soon, she'd stop helping him. More, that she'd tell someone what they were doing."

"And he didn't take that too well?" Juushirou murmured. Kyouko shrugged.

"She came back from their meeting very sure that he was going to pay." She said miserably. "But then, this afternoon...men came. And they were after Megumi, but because I was there, they went to take me as well. Because they didn't want anyone to see."

Shunsui was silent for a moment, and Juushirou could tell that his mind was working full speed as he struggled to digest all of this. For the first time since they'd met, he felt a different, indignant kind of fire flickering at the edge of his classmate's reiatsu, and he wondered at it. Shunsui's normal lazy calm was completely broken, and in its place was the faintest trace of someone whose spiritual potential was far greater than he'd given anyone reason to so far see.

With a jolt, Ryuu's words about the game of Shougi suddenly echoed across his senses once more as he grasped the deeper meaning in them.

_It's as if you see the way forward into the confrontation and then deliberately take the opposing action. I'd almost think you were mocking me – if I didn't know this was how you were with everything else, too._

He gazed at his classmate, half wondering if he was seeing him properly for the first time. Shunsui was oblivious, however, his attention fully on the shivering, pathetic girl who huddled before them on the ground.

"Think hard, Kyouko-chan." He said now, a note of urgency in his voice. "Did you recognise any of the men? Any of them at all?"

Kyouko shook her head despondently.

"I didn't see, really." She admitted. "But the one who grabbed Megumi - I hadn't seen him before."

"Did she know him?"

"Yes." Kyouko nodded. "But she didn't...I didn't hear her say any names. So I don't know who he was, Shunsui-kun. I'm sorry."

"Can you remember what he looked like, at least?" Juushirou's mind was already working towards speaking to Genryuusai and asking his advice, but Kyouko sighed, spreading her hands.

"He wasn't distinctive." She murmured. "He had pale eyes, and dark hair. He was fair skinned - but not as pale as you are. He was probably about Shunsui's height. Maybe...he was twenty or twenty five...but I'm not sure."

"And you'd never seen him before?"

"No. He didn't seem...like one of Megumi's usual clients." Kyouko drew a shuddery breath into her lungs. "If he had been, I'd have remembered him for sure."

Shunsui got to his feet.

"If Megumi's asked for my help, I guess there's nothing to do but help her." He said at length, and Juushirou shot him a startled look.

"Help her? Without knowing where she is, who took her...Shunsui, are you serious?"

"Of course I'm serious." Shunsui's brows knitted together. "What else am I going to do? If Kyouko's in this state, Megumi could be in real danger. And if she's put her trust in me, I'm not going to let her down."

"And if you get caught...? You're still under curfew, remember."

"If I get caught, I get sent home. So what?" Shunsui shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not exactly a model student, anyway. But if I don't help Megumi, maybe she'll be killed. And that's worse, isn't it?"

He hauled Kyouko to her feet.

"You shouldn't stay here." He added. "I don't know who or what Megumi was involved with, but given that people were paying her in gold coins, this probably isn't a safe place to be. You should leave here and run as far as you can away from the town and any of the students at this Academy. If you can get to the border of Kyouraku land, you should be safe. I'll send word to my brother and he'll make sure nothing can happen to you. But don't talk about this to anyone else. Understood? Nobody at all. No matter what. I'll try and help Megumi, if I can - but you take care of yourself."

Kyouko nodded numbly, reaching up to wipe away her tears.

"Megumi was right about you." She said softly. "You are someone to rely on."

Juushirou's eyes widened at this, and he glanced at Shunsui, surprise and realisation dawning in his hazel eyes even as their wretched companion hurried away into the undergrowth towards the school fences.

_Kyouko-san's right. Shunsui is lazy, irresponsible and unpredictable, and he never seems to break a sweat no matter how much trouble he gets into. But right now his aura is completely different. Because someone's in danger? Because someone might get hurt? _

He frowned, digesting this.

_Do I even know Shunsui as well as I thought? Have we all been deceived, after all?_

Out loud he said,

"Let me come with you."

Shunsui's eyes narrowed, and he shook his head.

"Not a chance."

"But you might need help!"

"Yes, maybe, but it won't be from you." Shunsui said firmly.

"Why not?" Juushirou was indignant at this, and Shunsui sighed, grabbing his classmate and giving him a little shake.

"Yama-jii made it clear to me that if I snuck out again, it'd be on my head." He said softly. "And if anyone snuck out with me, they'd be for it too. I won't bring you into trouble, Juushirou. I'm Clan. If need be, Tokutarou-nii might twist Yama-jii's arm and make it so I'm able to stay. Either way, the consequences won't be so severe. But if _you _get into trouble, I don't know what might happen. There are probably a lot of people waiting for an excuse to remove you from this place...people like Aitori, for example."

"Even so..."

"Listen to me!" Shunsui cut across him, shaking his head impatiently. "What you're doing is bigger than just your own future. Don't you realise that? You _have_ to stay here. What happens to me doesn't matter, in comparison. _You're _the one breaking all the social conventions. Are you going to screw it up?"

"Shunsui..."

"Yama-jii already knows, after all, that you were out with me that night."

Juushirou's eyes widened.

"Since when?" He demanded. "He hasn't said anything to me about it!"

"No, he's not told _you_ so." Shunsui retorted. "But he made it clear to _me_ that he knew. He told me that I wasn't to corrupt you to bad Clan habits, so I won't. Megumi asked _me_ for help. Not you. _You_ stay here. That way, only one of us gets into trouble. And besides, no offence but I'm pretty sure you'll only slow me down."

"But..."

"But nothing." Shunsui shook his head. "Go back to school and keep your mouth shut. I'll be back as soon as I can be."

With that he was gone, slipping through the trees towards the school's rear exit, and Juushirou sank back against the trunk of a nearby tree, his mind whirling with everything his classmate had said.

_There are probably a lot of people waiting for an excuse to remove you from this place._

His eyes narrowed, as slowly he turned on his heel, making his way reluctantly back towards the main school building. He could still feel the flutter of Shunsui's reiatsu at the back of his senses, moving swiftly away from the school, and absently he clenched and unclenched his fists.  
_  
You're the one breaking all the social conventions. Are you going to screw it up?_

"What_ was_ that, anyway?" He murmured, pausing as he reached the entrance, and turning back to face towards the gymnasium. "I've never seen you like that, Shunsui. Even though Megumi-san's someone you've know a short period of time...even so, you're that intent on rescuing her? Are you in love with her, after all?"

He thought for a moment, then shook his head.

_No. It wasn't that. It was something else. Something in his eyes...and in the way his reiatsu flickered. He just wanted to save her, no matter what_.

"Ukitake-kun!" Hirata's breathless voice made him glance up, seeing his anxious friend at the top of the stairs, and at the sight of him, he frowned, biting his lip.

"Where's Kyouraku-kun?" Hirata asked apprehensively, descending the stairs two of a time as he hurried to rejoin his classmate. "It's going to get dark soon - what did he...?"

Juushirou was silent for a moment, turning back to gaze in the direction Shunsui had gone. Then, as he did so, he felt something else trickle across his senses, and as he recognised it, his eyes widened with fear and realisation.

A Hollow.

In an instant, any doubts he had flew away and he grasped Hirata by the arm, pulling him to one side.

"Ukitake...kun?"

"He's gone to help a friend in trouble." Juushirou said quietly. "And I'm going after him. He didn't want me to, but there's something dangerous out there and...and he's not been to enough classes to be able to defend himself if the trouble hits him. So I'm going to go and bring him back."

"But..." Hirata's eyes became huge, and Juushirou nodded.

"Don't say anything, not even to Houjou-kun." He instructed. "With any luck I'll be able to find him and bring him back before anyone notices either of us are gone. But…but if we're not back by the end of dinner, Hirata-kun, I want you to tell Genryuusai-sensei what I've told you. All right? Because then we'll probably need help from a higher level."

Frightened, Hirata nodded his head.

"I understand." He whispered. "But...are you sure you should go, Ukitake-kun? If it's dangerous...?"

"I don't know, but I can't just leave him on his own." Juushirou said resolutely, though inwardly his heart was pounding at the thought of going anywhere near the Hollow's dark, forbidding aura. "I at least know some basic Kidou, and I think it might help. We'll be back as soon as we can, I promise – so trust me, all right? And do as I say."

Hirata sighed, but at length, he nodded his head.

"Be careful." He murmured, and Juushirou could see the thinly veiled fear in the young boy's eyes. "There's something dark and evil out there…I can feel it too."

"Don't worry. I don't intend on doing anything except bring Shunsui back to school." Juushirou said firmly. "I'll see you later, Hirata-kun – I'm counting on you!"

* * *

_**Author's Note**_

_Shougi is a tad anachronistic, but then, so is Soul Society in general. So meh :) It seemed to fit…_

_FFnet has been kinda funny for me over the last week and I'm likely to be crazy busy over the course of this week, so I'm going to upload this now while I have a moment to do it. The fact there's a nice evil cliffhanger involved is also part of the fun XD  
_

_Death is coming....^_^_

_This chapter also marks a milestone for me. As of this chapter, I've uploaded three million words to FFnet since August 2006 (in all categories) XD_

_Geez, that's a lot of words :|  
_


	10. Falling Darkness

**Chapter Nine: Falling Darkness  
**

Megumi's reiatsu had all but dissipated, now.

Shunsui hurried through the undergrowth, anxiety adding wings to his feet as he pushed forward, his senses straining for any faint flicker of the girl's aura anywhere in the surrounding landscape. Kyouko had been scratched and bruised, her torn clothing suggesting a long run through sharp undergrowth, and so he had taken the most likely path away from the school, following his instincts as much as his wits as he struggled to locate the missing hostess. Megumi may be nothing more than trash to most of the people in the surrounding area, but to Shunsui she was a painful reminder of Saku and of the girls who he had met over the course of his aimless year of drinking and debauchery.

Girls doing what they had to do to survive in a cruel society that did not make any provision to protect them.

His eyes narrowed at this

_Instead of all this rubbish about slaying Hollows and Clan pride, it would be better if Yama-jii had set up a school in teaching Noble idiots to look around them at the suffering right here._

He swept a low-hanging branch aside viciously as if to emphasise his thoughts.

_As it is, even people like Juushirou who come from stable low level families are having to fight for any kind of recognition at all. If the Clans stopped to listen to their subjects, maybe they'd learn a few things from them. But it'll never happen. Not so long as we have this stupid system, where Clan can kill one another and nothing is done.  
_  
His eyes narrowed as he reached the next clearing, for Megumi's reiatsu stopped dead here, and in the atmosphere around him was the lingering melee of others - auras that had been suppressed up to that point, but for some unknown reason had been released at the same time.

Had Megumi been brought here, then? And then what? Her captors had lost interest? Or worse? And...why had they chosen this place to reveal traces of their presence?

Shunsui gazed up at the sky, cursing the darkening heavens as he did so. Even though he was relying on his sharp spiritual senses, he knew that it was a largely unfamiliar landscape beyond this point, and he had no idea of the dangers that awaited him. He ran his mind once more over what Kyouko had said about her friend's captor, pursing his lips as he pondered on the description in more detail.

"But as she said, it's not distinctive. A lot of people have those features." He murmured sadly. "And even if they had significant reiatsu, one like Kyouko wouldn't know it."

He took a tentative step or two forward, not letting his guard down for a moment as he felt out the surrounding region for any sign of company. It seemed deserted, however, and yet that tantalising swirl of reiatsu on the wind told him that until very recently it had been occupied by more than one individual.

At that moment his foot struck against something and he almost fell headlong, cursing as he reached out to grab the overhanging branch of a tree to steady himself. As he gazed down, he uttered another string of curses, dropping to the ground as he registered what he had collided with.

"Megumi-chan."

Despite himself, helpless anger welled up in his heart as he put his finger gently to the young girl's jugular, knowing before he touched her that it was too late. A gash at her throat told him that her death had been quick, yet from the scrapes and bruises on her body, it was clear that she had fought desperately for her life up until the last moment. Rage burned through him at the thought, and he bit his lip, brushing her messy dark hair out of her eyes. Her body was still luke-warm, indicating that her death had occurred only a short time before he had arrived, and somehow this stabbed through him even more deeply.

"I'm sorry, Megumi." He whispered, tears glittering on his lashes. "It seems I'm always too late. You put your trust in me, but I let you down. I wasn't quick enough to save you."

He sighed, sitting back on his heels as he forced himself to calm down and remember what Kyouko had said.

_"Megumi...lately she'd been making more coin than the rest of us. But she wouldn't tell me about it. She said it was...something secret and that so long as she kept it that way, she'd keep getting paid."_

"So what were you involved in?" He wondered, swallowing hard as he got to grips with his composure. He frowned, eying the gash at the throat once more, and he murmured a curse as he realised what it was about the wound that bothered him.

It was a quick, clean cut - a single swipe of a smooth-bladed weapon. It would have happened in a split second, yet from the lack of blood, Shunsui realised that it had not been the work of even the most well trained of local thieves. As he registered his train of thought, he felt his heart sinking inside of him, and then, as if summoned there by some divine force, he remembered Megumi's own words ringing in his head.

_"He spends enough of his own time in and out of this town that his face is familiar to most of us. Besides, he still owes me two gold coins."_

Two gold coins. Shunsui's eyes narrowed as he pieced his logic together. It was a jump, he knew, and he had no evidence, but even so...

"Aitori owed you two gold coins. And Kyouko said you'd not been paid by whoever it was who'd been keeping you in money of late." He mused. "Now you're here, struck down by an assassin's blade. Only someone associated with the Shihouin would have that kind of expert training - and the knowledge to slip away into the shadows as though they were never here. None of the reiatsu traces around this area were familiar, and certainly, Aitori's wasn't there. Plus, Aitori doesn't fit Kyouko's description, either. So the connection is tenuous and completely unproveable. And yet..."

He sighed, burying his head in his hands.

"Was it my mistake, Megumi-chan, assuming that Aitori's coins were for sexual favours and not thinking about it more deeply at the time?" He wondered aloud. "If I'd asked you then...but I didn't think it through. Yet even so...why would he want to eliminate _you_? And if it's coincidence - if Aitori's not involved himself, what if the Shihouin are? Invading their neighbour's land, using desperate young women then killing them in order to cover their tracks. Would they really be that brazen?"

He got to his feet.

"Aitori wasn't here tonight. He didn't kill you, at least." He reflected. "But even the faint possibility that his Clan might have been involved...makes me wonder what kind of dangerous game you stumbled into. For a Clan to want to kill you, it must have been significant. And, potentially, deadly."

His gaze strayed once more to his dead companion, and he let out a heavy sigh.

"It's too little, too late." He reflected. "But if I can find it out, I will. And so long as Kyouko can get to the border, I'll make sure Oniisama sees her safe. If I get sent home for this, it may be the best thing, because I can discuss it with him on our own land and out of the earshot of spies. But for the time being...I need to go back. Juushirou is going to worry, and there's nothing I can do for you now."

He cast her a last glance, then, not without misgivings he turned, beginning to make his way back towards the school. It was almost dark now, but he took no notice, so deep in his own thoughts that he barely registered the cloying blackness that had descended around him.

_Why release their reiatsu there? What was that for? Why would they do something so blatantly obvious? The Shihouin aren't fool enough to leave evidence at the crime scene. Have I got it wrong after all? Are they being framed by someone else, and it's nothing to do with them or Aitori at all? There was no clear Shihouin reiatsu that I recognised - but even so...Ah, I hate this! I hate trying to think about the way the Clans work!_

As he crossed into the next clearing, however, all thoughts flew from his mind as there was a tremendous, blood-chilling shriek, and something heavy landed in front of him, sending a gust of cold wind swirling around the copse. Shunsui stopped dead, staring at the Hollow in surprise and alarm.

_What the...? Was I so lost in thought that I didn't even notice its approach? You careless fool. What use are you to Megumi if you just get eaten by a monster like that?_

He took a step back, gauging his chances of escape, but having extended his senses to their fullest extent, he now realised that he was vulnerable to the dark aura of the creature before him and, as it beat its tremendous, scaly wings, he felt a knot of genuine fear curl up inside of his heart.

_I have no way to fight. All I can do is run away. But can I even do that? It's winged, after all. It can fly probably as fast as I can run, and even if I push to move more quickly...I don't know how long I can sustain it. _

He took a second step back, feeling the hard bark of an aging trunk behind him, and for some reason, Juushirou's words about becoming a tree flickered through his head. He snorted, forcing them back.  
_  
Now I'm panicking and I'm getting stupid. Get a grip, Shunsui! You've only got one chance to escape. Somehow you need to distract its attention away from you - and towards something else._

At this, his eyes widened, even as he dodged out of the way of the beast's immense beak-like head as it swooped down towards him, extending its neck far enough for Shunsui to feel its fetid breath against his cheeks.  
_  
Something else. Was that it? They revealed their presence not to alert authorities, but to lure a Hollow to destroy the evidence? Maybe they intended Megumi to be killed by a Hollow - but she fought too hard, and so they killed her. Then like the cowards they are, they fled...but the Hollow was still interested in their invitation. And since I'm the only one here...it looks like I've become dinner._

The beast's head swooped down again, and Shunsui cursed, leaping deftly up into the branches as he gauged his chances of escape through the trees. The monster had no intention of letting him get away so easily, however, for it let out another spine-curling shriek, butting its huge head against the trunk again and again until its vibrations tore the roots from the ground, sending it toppling backwards. Shunsui let out a yelp, only just managing to get clear in time, and as he struggled to catch his breath, he found himself staring straight into the Hollow's glittering gaze.

There was nothing there, not even the faintest glimmers of life or hope, yet in the dark, oppressive aura that surrounded it, Shunsui was suddenly struck by an overwhelming sense of torment. And, as the beast screeched its intentions once more, he felt that pain seeping across his own senses, paralysing him as they flooded through his body.

The Hollow was in pain.

Just like his Father, this creature had been stripped of all his hope. Just like Matsuhara, this beast was a prisoner of its fate.

Shunsui swallowed hard, struggling to process this thought coherently.

_Father hated killing Hollows, even though Hollows were killing others. You knew, didn't you, Father? That their pain was like yours. That you saw yourself in their empty eyes - that you'd lost everything by slaying them, and so didn't want to do it any more.  
_  
The monster shrieked again, its pain resonating cruelly against Shunsui's young, raw senses, and it beat its wings, priming itself for a fresh attack. Like the girls who had been compelled to risk their lives to gain the illicit substances they craved, Shunsui suddenly saw the Hollow in the same light - as a depraved, trapped beast whose dignity and hope had been swallowed by the dark desire to consume and destroy.

Before the creature could attack, however, a flash of blue light came flooding across the copse, illuminating it for a moment in its glow and, as the blast caught the tip of the creature's wing it screamed, reeling back and turning as if seeking the cause of its discomfort. As it did so, Shunsui felt something else flit across his senses, and his eyes opened wide with dismay as he struggled to his feet.

There, in the entrance to the copse, silhouetted briefly by the flare of his own magic, was the thin form of his District-born classmate.

"_Juushirou?!_"

"Shunsui?" Juushirou's aura was pulsing with fear, prickling and dancing in a way that Shunsui hadn't known it before, yet he stood his ground, grim resolution in his hazel eyes. "Shunsui, are you all right?"

"What are you doing here, you idiot?" Shunsui darted across to join him, sending him an incredulous look. "Didn't I tell you already, stay behind? Damn, do you know what kind of trouble you're going to be in now?"

"Better that than knowing you were out here and being attacked without doing anything." Juushirou said flatly. "You don't know how to fire Kidou. I do. Even if my level's not enough to kill a Hollow yet, it's probably enough to drive them back. I know that much. So I came."

"You...even from school, you felt the Hollow?"

"I'd never forget a Hollow's reiatsu." Juushirou nodded. "Not ever."

He swallowed hard, and Shunsui could tell his companion was only just keeping his fear in check.

"We need to get out of here. Fast."

"Tell _him_ that." Shunsui flung his fist in the direction of the Hollow, and Juushirou sighed, closing his eyes briefly to compose himself.

"Get ready to run." He murmured, stretching his hands out before him as he gathered his spirit power together. "All right? We won't have much time to, so be ready."

"What are you going to...?"

"_Kunrinsha yo! Chiniku no kamen, Banshou, Habataki, Hito no na o kansu mono yo!_"

Juushirou's words were muttered and low, but just loud enough for Shunsui to hear them, and his eyes opened wide with surprise.

"You're going to...but..."

"_Shounetsu to souran, umi-hedate sakamaki, minami e ho o susumu yo._"

Juushirou's entire body stiffened, and Shunsui felt his heart skip a beat as he felt the raw flare of his companion's reiatsu surge inside of him as it answered its master's call.

"_Hadou no sanjuu-ichi! Shakka-hou!"_

As he yelled out the final part of the spell, a bolt of red flame burst from the boy's hands, speeding across the clearing like a bullet and hitting the Hollow square in the chest. It stumbled, screaming in protest, and Juushirou grasped Shunsui by the wrist, pulling him into the forest without waiting to see what the monster did next. Behind them, Shunsui could feel the beast's reiatsu as it spread its wings, soaring up into the skies overhead, and he swallowed hard.

"We can't outrun something when it's flying!" He exclaimed.

"Do...you have...any better...ideas?" Juushirou demanded, and at his broken, blunt response, Shunsui realised that his companion had used a fair amount of his own strength to fire the blast. His reiatsu was still swirling and dancing, and it seemed that Juushirou was only just keeping it under his control. His face was ash pale, and from the terror rooted deep in his hazel eyes, Shunsui knew his companion was still battling against his own urge to break down and scream for help. Yet he kept going, even though his breaths were coming in rougher and rougher gasps, and despite himself, Shunsui felt a fresh surge of respect for his classmate.

At that moment, however, the Hollow's reiatsu descended over them again, and as the beast thundered down across their path, Shunsui hauled Juushirou to a halt, shaking his head.

"If you know any more clever spells, now would be the time to share them with him." He said softly. "Because he's a little charred, and not very happy - and he's still after us."

Juushirou closed his eyes, a brief flash of pain crossing his brow as he drew breath into his lungs.

"I only...know..._Soukatsui_...and _Shakka-hou_." He managed. "And it's...hard to focus...reiatsu...after running...headlong."

"Then we're going to have to find another way of escaping it." Shunsui took a step or two forwards, grasping a branch and pulling it off a nearby tree, wielding it firmly. Juushirou stared at him, shaking his head.

"What use is that?" He demanded. "You can't...kill a Hollow...with a tree branch!"

"I never said anything about killing anything." Shunsui shook his head. "I just want to give us some space to escape. That's all."

"You already said it, though! We can't...outrun something...that's flying!"

"Then we'll have to give it the run-around till a Gotei patrol detects it and someone comes to rescue us, won't we?" Shunsui said matter-of-factly. "In which case, while you recharge your batteries, I'll give him a game with this."

"Don't be stupid!" Juushirou exclaimed. "His claws are bigger than your head - he'll _kill_ you!"

He coughed, wincing involuntarily as he drew a tentative breath into his lungs.

"And you're no use to me if you choose now to have a coughing fit." Shunsui pointed out. "Don't yell at me hysterically, okay? If we're going to get out of this, we need two clear heads. That's one more than the Hollow has...right?"

Juushirou did not answer, but at that moment the beast bore down on them once more, attacking with such force that it sliced Shunsui's branch clean in two. Despite himself, Shunsui took a step back, but it was not enough and, as the creature's beak drew closer to his body, he felt himself saying an inward, desperate prayer to the heavens for help.

Then, as if summoned by that cry, something came barrelling into him, knocking him to the floor. As Shunsui struggled to work out what had happened, he saw Juushirou standing between him and the Hollow, a mixture of terror and determination on his face. A strange glow surrounded his body, whipping at the stray ends of his odd white hair and illuminating the whole of his aura as if every inch of Juushirou's resolve had been somehow translated into spirit power. Despite himself, Shunsui found he was almost as afraid of his classmate as he was of the monster before him, for even the flare of reiatsu that had defeated Ryuu in the gym Kenjitsu fight was a mere candle flame in comparison.

Juushirou's aura was raw, dark and filled with pain, and somehow Shunsui could feel that every breath he took into his body was an effort as the _reiryoku_ surged wild and free from within him, growing greater and greater with every passing second until it almost filled the copse with unrelenting, unfettered spiritual energy. Mesmerised by the sensation, Shunsui almost thought he heard the sound of waves lapping against a shore, and he swallowed hard, realising that unless he gathered his wits, he too would be smothered and swallowed up by his classmate's spreading power.

The Hollow hesitated, taking a step back and raising its head to the sky to let out a shriek of confusion and dismay.

Somehow, Shunsui knew how it felt.

"Juushirou." He whispered, and at the sound of his name, the apparition before him turned, offering him a faint, pained smile.

"Run." He murmured, and Shunsui stared at him in disbelief.

"And leave you here? Not likely."

"Go." Juushirou's eyes became desperate. "I can't...much more...it's...my limit is..."

Before he could finish, he stumbled, falling to his knees as the wild glow began to fade and fragment, splitting into incoherent flickers and flares as Shunsui felt Juushirou's consciousness waver. As his classmate fell, he cursed, hurrying to catch him, and a burning, prickling sensation ran through his fingers as he made contact with the boy's heavy body.

"So you're reckless and stupid and you don't listen. Any other bad habits I need to know about?" He demanded, but there was no humour in his tones, and Juushirou merely stared at him, terror and pain clear in his eyes.

"We're either both leaving here, or neither of us are." Shunsui continued grimly, shifting his position so that he was more able to adequately shield his wounded comrade from the Hollow's range of attack. "So here's plan B. You just stay put there, and while it's confused, I'm going to give that _Shakka-hou _thing of yours a shot. All right?"

"Shun..."

"I know. I've never been taught it, and I might spoon it badly." Shunsui nodded. "But it's the only chance we've got. All right? I'll blast him and then we're getting out of here. Both of us. All right?"

Juushirou's eyes fluttered closed for a moment, then,

"_Kunrinsha yo_." He murmured, and Shunsui realised he was repeating the spell. Resolution coursed through him, and he nodded.

"You say it, and I'll cast it." He said firmly. "Just like that."

He stretched out his hands, remembering Juushirou's stiff, determined stance, and, as the injured boy hoarsely murmured the words of the spell, he repeated them, pouring all of his will into it.

"_Hadou no sanjuu-ichi, Shakka-hou_!"

He exclaimed, and as he did so, the palms of his hands seemed to burn with a scalding red flame as he released his usual limits on his _reiryoku_, giving his all to the blast. It hit the Hollow square on, knocking him back off his feet, and as the creature tumbled heavily against two trees, Shunsui saw his chance. Tightening his hold on Juushirou's thin form, already shaking with trauma and fear, he focused his energy on moving at speed away from the battleground.

The school was too far, he knew that. But he remembered a cave he had once hidden in to conceal himself from the school curfew patrols, and he set his sights on it, letting out a sigh of relief as he managed to make the distance.

Juushirou was unconscious by this point, and he set his companion's trembling form down against the cool floor of the cave, putting a hand to his brow and frowning as he realised the boy was beginning a fever.

"I don't know what you did in there, but it was frightening." He murmured. "And now...what am I going to do with you? You're hurt, obviously - how am I going to get you back to school?"

* * *

It was late, and the darkness outside of the school was beginning to grow oppressive.

Hirata pushed his food from one side of his plate to the other, his mind far away from the Dining Hall as he went over Juushirou's last words to him for the hundredth time. Since his white-haired friend had disappeared into the grounds of the Academy, Hirata had not seen hide nor hair of either him or the irreverent Shunsui, and at that time a curl of resentment had begun to stir inside of his heart.

Kyouraku Shunsui was a troublemaker, after all, and now he'd gone and broken bounds and taken his classmate with him. Hirata was not foolish, and he knew that the punishment for breaking his curfew would probably be steep - though if he was truly honest with himself, he didn't care all that much about Shunsui's fate. Instead he had agonised over Juushirou's absence, fretting alternatively with envy and anger as he realised he had been well and truly left behind.

But, as the evening had drawn on, his jealousy had begun to turn into anxiety, and, as he remembered the shadow of fear that had touched Juushirou's gaze the last time they had spoken, a deep feeling of dread had flooded through his young body.

What if they _didn't_ come back? What kind of danger had his friend meant? And should he go to Genryuusai-sensei as Ukitake-kun had told him, even if it meant them getting into serious trouble? He knew only too well what his life would be like if Juushirou was expelled from the Academy - and the idea did not bear thinking about.

And then, as he had dropped down in his usual place beside Enishi at the dining table assigned to his dorm's residents, he had felt it - the dark, relentless wave of a Hollow on the rampage.

And at that moment he had known what Juushirou had gone to face. Whatever Shunsui had gotten himself involved in, Juushirou had gone to protect him from the Hollow. And he had probably put his life in danger at the same time.

"Are you going to eat that, Hirata, or are you just going to decorate your plate with it?" Enishi asked him at that moment, and Hirata started, staring up at the big boy with uncomprehending eyes.

"Your food." Enishi jerked a chopstick in the direction of the other boy's platter. "You've not eaten more than a bite since we came here. What's on your mind?"

"Perhaps he can't eat without his minder there to cut up the food for him." Kai muttered darkly, and Hirata flinched, indignation and apprehension competing for dominance as he read the disdain in the other boy's golden eyes. "Where_ is _Ukitake, anyway? Kyouraku, too. What are they doing? It's not like either of them to miss a meal."

"Considering how often _you_ do so of late, I am surprised you'd bother to comment." Ryuu said flatly, finishing his own meal and setting down his chopsticks. "I shouldn't be surprised, given your usual unpleasant manner, but there is no need to take out whatever is bothering you on Hirata. He's your classmate, not a small child in need of nannies and nursemaids."

"Sometimes I wonder." Kai glowered. "And noone asked you anything about that. I was asking about Kyouraku and Ukitake. Not the mouse that squeaks in the corner of our room each morning and night, if it's all the same to you."

"Why would you care?" Ryuu returned. "I wasn't aware that they were particular friends of yours, after all."

"And now they're _your_ closest companions, I suppose?" Kai curled his lip, getting to his feet and scooping up his tray. "Fine. If it's that much of a secret, I won't ask. I have other things to do, in any case - and I have enough of your company already. Maybe you can help Endou finish his meal, if he's not able to eat on his own. I'll see you all in Dorm."

With that he was gone, and Enishi grimaced.

"Shihouin, exit, stage right." He muttered. "Why is it conversations between you two always end that way?"

"Because his level of argument is inferior to mine, and he knows he cannot get the better of me." Ryuu said dismissively. "His presence is not required here, though, so there is no reason to worry. Besides, now he is gone, I wish to know the answer to his question, also. Kyouraku and Ukitake do not usually miss the evening meal - why are they not here tonight?"

"Beyond me." Enishi shrugged. "Kyouraku's good at falling asleep in random places, so I guess that's where he is. Ukitake? Now that's the odd one. But maybe he went by the Healing Bay or something. Or to see Kazoe about this afternoon. There are a lot of options."

Hirata bit his lip, lowering his gaze as he slowly set down his chopsticks. At his movement, Ryuu's eyes narrowed, and he fixed his gaze on the younger boy thoughtfully.

"Not long after Kyouraku and Ukitake left us in the common room, I sensed their reiatsu shifting to outside of the Academy's grounds." He said softly. "Hirata, you went after them - did you not? Yet you came back alone and have not spoken a word about it since. Surely_ you_ know where they might be?"

"_Outside_?" Enishi's eyes widened. "Are you sure? Kyouraku's not allowed to do that...and Ukitake's not the kind to rashly break bounds."

"I imagine it had something to do with the young woman who invaded our campus." Ryuu reflected. "But _she_ left in a different direction, so they did not accompany her anywhere. In fact, they did not even leave together. Kyouraku went first, then Ukitake a short time later. We could, I suppose, ask Iwai or Kira what they recall about the girl...but I still think that Hirata probably knows more than we do. And it would be easier, Hirata, if you would tell us that information without my having to force it out of you."

Hirata's eyes became huge at this, fear reflecting in his pale eyes, and Enishi held up his hands.

"You're not going to do anything to him." He said warningly. "Ukitake'd never stand for it and I won't either. If he knows something, there must be a reason why he hasn't told us. I guess Ukitake made him promise not to - is that right, kid?"

Slowly, Hirata nodded his head.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "But he said...not to...until dinner was ended. If...they weren't...here."

"But you _do_ know where they've gone?" Ryuu raised an eyebrow.

Hirata shook his head.

"No." He admitted, tears glittering in his pale eyes at the demanding note in his classmate's austere tones. "I don't. Ukitake-kun...he didn't tell me exactly."

"Well, dinner_ is_ over, except for you." Enishi dropped his chopsticks down onto his plate with a clatter. "And they're not here. So you won't be breaking any promises if you tell us now."

"I was supposed...to only...tell Genryuusai-sensei. If they didn't come."

"Then I guess we're going to speak to the head honcho, huh?" Enishi met Ryuu's gaze and Ryuu frowned, nodding his head.

"Yes, I imagine we are." He murmured. "Hirata, I hope you understand the implications of this, however. Or did you not know that there was a Hollow in the forest this evening?"

"A Hollow?" Enishi stared, and Hirata nodded miserably.

"I can feel it too." He whispered. "But...Ukitake-kun...he made me promise. And...and I...I don't want to make him...mad at me."

"Better mad than dead." Ryuu said bluntly, and Hirata flinched, knowing that his classmate's words were true. Before he could respond, however, something assailed his senses, and he shot to his feet, fear and alarm flooding his features as he registered what it was.

"Ukitake-kun!" He whispered, and from the look on Ryuu's face, he knew that his classmate had felt it too.

"They're in trouble." There was none of the usual finesse in the Kuchiki boy's tone, and he grabbed Hirata by the arm, pulling him towards the door. "That's it. We're going to Genryuusai-sensei now. No more delaying, Hirata. It's not a matter of keeping a promise any more."

"Wait! Woah, what's gotten into the both of you!" Enishi demanded, hurrying after them as many older students turned to stare at their sudden and unexpected dash from the Dining Hall. "Where are we going? Why are you acting like someone prodded you up the rear with sharpened _asauchi_? What's going on?"

"You didn't feel it?" Ryuu wheeled on him, disbelief in his expression. "Seriously, Houjou, what kind of reiatsu awareness do you have, anyway?"

"Nothing like as sensitive as yours, obviously." Enishi said ruefully. "What about it? Did you pick something up?"

"Yes." Ryuu said abruptly, and Hirata bit his lip, struggling to hold the tears back.

"Ukitake-kun's reiatsu." He whispered, his voice wavering as fear took over his vocal chords, threatening to paralyse them completely. "In the forest. Like..."

"Like nothing on earth." Ryuu said darkly, and Hirata nodded, knowing that there were no good words to describe the darkness or desperation that had suddenly pierced through his wits like a blade through his soul.

"You can feel that...from here?"

"As though it was right across the room." Ryuu agreed, not slowing his step for one moment, and Hirata was struck by the genuine note of anxiety in the boy's normally aloof tones. "Whatever's going on, Ukitake just released his reiatsu about as hard as he could go. The time he did it in the gym is nothing on this. They must've met with the Hollow. If Ukitake did something like that, it must mean they're in real trouble. And even if we get to Sensei, I don't know if we'll be in time. But dammit, we don't have a lot of choice."

"I don't think I ever heard you swear before." Enishi's eyes became wide with surprise as they hurried down the passageway that led to the Head's study. "Kuchiki, you're really worried about them, aren't you?"

"I'm worried about what that idiot Kyouraku has dragged one of my kinsmen into." Ryuu said abruptly, a flicker of embarrassment in his slate grey eyes at his uncharacteristic show of emotion. "That's all. Even if Ukitake _is_ low-born, he does have _some_ Kuchiki blood. And therefore it's my _duty_ to be concerned, no matter how dilute the consanguinity."

"If you say so." Enishi spread his hands. "I'm worried about the both of them, if whatever you just felt has got the pair of you wound up like this. Kyouraku might be a lazy idiot sometimes, but if they're in trouble...why wouldn't they run from the Hollow? Why would they try and fight it, anyway?."

"Maybe Kyouraku-kun is hurt, and Ukitake-kun was protecting him." Hirata managed, and Ryuu shrugged.

"I don't know." He said frankly. "But I _do_ know this. After a flare like that, there's no way Ukitake's in one piece. He almost took himself out fighting me in the gymnasium earlier this term. And this was a much more powerful burst. I would not be so worried about Kyouraku. His like tend to slip out of trouble with great and alarming ease. But Ukitake's the kind of fool who races in to save someone without thinking about what he's doing. And the consequences..."

He trailed off, but Hirata's heart went cold as he interpreted his classmate's meaning.

At that moment they reached the Head's office, however, and Ryuu rapped smartly on the door, waiting impatiently to be called in. After what seemed like forever, the call came, and as Ryuu slid back the door, Hirata stumbled into the office, his hysteria getting the better of him as he met the concerned gaze of the school's Headmaster. One look at the old man's face told the frightened boy that Genryuusai already knew all about the Hollow and the sudden, unexpected flare of one of his students' life forces in the forest - and that by keeping his word to Ukitake, Hirata realised that he may well have cost his friend his life.

That was the last straw, as his last tentative hold on his emotions broke and the floodgates opened.

"There's a H...Hollow in the forest." He choked out, tears streaming down his face as he gazed up at the old man in desperation. "And Ukitake-kun's n...not here!"

* * *

_**Author's Note**_  
_  
In case anyone is wondering..._

_It can be assumed that Yamamoto knew about the Hollow the moment it surfaced. However, he's not actively Gotei at this point, so he himself would not deal with it. More, he'd remain at the school in case it was needed for him to protect his students._

_As for knowing where Kyouraku and Ukitake were - I imagine he'd not given that much thought until Ukitake flared his reiatsu - whereas Hirata and Ryuu were looking for them the whole time. I'm not trying to suggest that Hirata or Ryuu have sharper wits than their Headmaster by any stretch of the imagination :) But I wanted to show Ryuu's reaction especially to what was going on - and I wanted to do it from Hirata's viewpoint, so Yamamoto's actions or thoughts before they enter his office are not known. Hirata is, after all, not in the most coherent state of mind at this point._


	11. Ad Undas

**Chapter Ten: Ad Undas  
**

Everything was choked in darkness, and above his head, the lightning split the heavens, illuminating the barren, dry land around him in a cruel, shadowy glow. Deep within Juushirou's heart, fear and desperation curled together into one thrusting emotion, panic flooding through every one of his senses as he gazed up helplessly at the torn, electric sky.

He had never been afraid of storms before, yet somehow this time he could not suppress the waves of terror that still lapped against the raw edges of his soul. Nothing quite made sense, and the harder he tried to pull his thoughts together, the more they seemed to drift away from him.

There had been someone else, he knew that. A fleeting sensation of another's presence still brushed against his soul, making him feel that he wasn't completely alone in this unfamiliar wasteland. Yet no matter how hard he looked, he could not see anything for miles around except darkness and death.

The lightning struck the ground at that point, sparks flying in all directions and as one caught the dry trunk of a dead tree, it blazed into flame, the suddenness of the heat seeming to sear through Juushirou's heart. He gasped, struggling for breath as the flaming tree's blackened branches reached out across towards him, curling themselves tightly around his chest until he could not draw even the smallest puff of air into his worn lungs. Pain dominated his every sense, and tears sprang into his hazel eyes as he fought in vain against his relentless, ruthless captor.

So this was death, then? If he submitted, would the pain then stop? Would he be able to rest and let go, and leave this terrible place forever?

Yet somehow he knew, despite the pain, it was not what he wanted.

"Juushirou?"

As darkness crashed once more over his senses, he thought he heard the faint lapping of waves against a distant shore, and from somewhere in the depths of his black confusion he was sure he had heard a voice, faint yet comforting in his delirium. Instinctively he reached out for it, seeking the comfort and warmth that radiated from its tones, and as he did so, he felt something gentle sweep over him, wrapping him in security and love. The burning branches withered and fell away as ash as the sensation grew stronger, and he drew a gasping breath of air into aching lungs, greedily clinging on to the faintest chance of life.

And then the voice spoke again.

"Rest a while. You needn't be afraid. You're not alone, after all. You're not alone."

"Why are you cosseting him so much?" A second voice cut across his senses, but it was more concerned than it was angry. "He was the one who almost left us alone, In. And you want to reassure him that everything is all right? A few more moments and he'd have been beyond even our reach."

The air around Juushirou's body suddenly seemed to be replaced by cool, rippling water, and his eyes jerked open, struggling to bring his surrounds into focus. Somehow, he had been here before - yet in that instant he could not place how or when. Just as he was sure the disorientation would overwhelm him, something small and black swam into his field of vision, and as he gazed at it, suddenly he had the strongest sense that he had seen this creature before.

Little by little, his thoughts began to come together, and he parted cracked lips to speak.

"In..." he murmured, and the creature flipped its fins, a sense of relief radiating from her small body.

"So you do remember." She murmured. "I wondered if you were too far gone to know who we were, Juushirou. You realise, don't you, how close you came to destroying yourself this time? Last time, your Father intervened before your power truly got to that level. Last time, even after so long ill, you were able to come here and relinquish all of your earthly pain and suffering to speak to us. But this time it's different. You let your panic take over and you threw everything out there without giving a thought to your own safety. This time the pain and damage has burned right through to the core of your soul - you almost burned us too, Juushirou. This time, you almost died."

Juushirou blinked, gathering his wits as little by little he put together what she meant. It was true, he realised - though he now understood that he was deep inside his own consciousness, he could still feel the burning, raw pain shooting through his lungs, and every breath felt like a victory against oblivion. Blood stained the corners of his mouth, and he absently reached up to wipe it away, glancing at the reddish stains it left on his hand with a detached feeling of awareness.

Then another thought crossed his mind.

"Shunsui?" He murmured, and at this, the second fish made himself visible, a long, slightly charred white tail swishing in the smooth water as he fixed his companion with beady black eyes.

"Your friend is fine. Thanks to him, you're away from the scene of battle." He said quietly. "Your concern is yourself, right now. Do you understand what strength this soul truly possesses? Whether you acted instinctively or consciously, the same is true. You can't control it, yet. You're not ready. Do you want to die before you've learnt all the ways how?"

"The Hollow...was going...to kill him." Tears glittered on Juushirou's lashes. "I can't...see that...happen again."

"Let it go, You. The boy's upset enough." In murmured, and Juushirou felt somewhat soothed once again by her maternal kindness. "He's a long way from being ready, we both know it. But wanting to protect his friend - surely we should understand that impulse best of all. Juushirou was repaying a debt - he was doing what he could not do, three years ago."

"I know." You agreed resignedly. "But look at the state of him."

"Still, we managed to reach him." In reminded her companion gently. "And thanks to the warmth of his friend's reiatsu, his has calmed to the point where he's aware of himself once more. So long as that's the case, he won't die. So long as he hasn't given up."

She turned towards Juushirou.

"I'm right, aren't I? You want to live?"

And in that moment, Juushirou knew that he did.

"Yes." He said hoarsely. "I want to live. And I want to get stronger. So that next time I can do something without causing a bother to other people."

"Then go back to the old man's Academy and listen to his wisdom." You told him frankly. "Let them take care of your wounds, and rest until you're fit to rise and fight again. Work hard and concentrate on learning things as you're ready to learn them. That way, you'll become stronger."

"And you'll be with me?"

"We already told you, we're always with you." In assured him. "No matter what."

Juushirou's eyes widened as he remembered something else, and he held out his hands to them, brushing his fingers against their smooth scales as he did so.

"Last time you said something...about your real name." He murmured, and at his question, there was a moment of silence, the two fish meeting gazes across the smooth water.

"You're far from ready for that kind of conversation." You said at length. "You barely escaped this battle with your life. This time, you were lucky. But we can't trust you with information like that until you can master the skills you're being taught without putting yourself into danger."

"There's no hurry." In added soothingly. "The time will come, but You is right. This isn't it. Don't be in too much of a hurry, Juushirou-kun. You'll only lose your life if you rush in. You have a very special talent, after all. Don't destroy it by trying to use it all too quickly."

"But I..."

"You want to help. We know." You said evenly. "But you're still just a boy with a boy's powers. Your potential is as great or greater than your companions, but potential is hardly concrete. Until you learn to use that strength, it'll be nothing more_ than_ potential. Trust us and trust the old man. He knows. He's seen us in your aura, after all. He understands you better than you understand yourself. Follow his guidance and then we'll be able to talk - about our name."

Juushirou felt somehow deflated, and at his expression, In brushed her fin gently against his cheek.

"Your friend is worried, and it's time you rejoined him." She said gently. "Healing may be long and difficult, this time - but bear it like a man, all right? You have life, and nothing is more precious than that. With life, anything is still possible. Remember that."

With that the two small creatures began to fade and blur into the surroundings and, as the water too became more and more of an illusion, Juushirou was suddenly aware of the heavy pounding pain that burst through his body. Somewhere in the hot surroundings, however, he was aware of someone else, and he fought against the agony and the blackness, forcing his eyes to open.

As he did so, he saw a blurry face staring down at him, concerned brown eyes meeting his hazel ones, and he blinked a couple of times, bringing his companion into focus.

"Juushirou!" A voice exclaimed, then, "Dammit, you know how to scare someone, you know that?"

"Shun...sui." Juushirou managed, then his chest spasmed and he struggled to pull himself into a more upright position as he coughed, choking on the scalding blood that surged up through his vocal chords and into his mouth. Distantly he heard Shunsui's exclamation of alarm, but at that moment all of his senses were occupied with the violence of his reaction to their adventure, and as the attack continued, he felt someone's strong arms supporting his trembling body, holding him steady as the shudders wracked unrelentingly through him.

At length the attack was over, and he sank back against his companion helplessly, pain and exhaustion flooding him completely as he closed his eyes.

"What the hell was that?" Shunsui's voice broke through his thoughts and he opened his eyes again, dragging a rough breath into his lungs.

"Just...let me rest." He murmured. Then he closed his eyes again, allowing the fever to take over as he sank back into darkness.

* * *

Silence hung heavily over the Headmaster's office, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife as they waited for the word.

Across the room, Genryuusai could see the mixture of fear and anxiety on the young faces, the strain that flickered in even Ryuu's clever grey eyes as one minute ticked into the next, and then into a third.

Hirata had long since given way to his sobs, and he was huddled up against his big-hearted classmate, Enishi having told him firmly that it would 'be all right' and that there was 'nothing to worry about'. Still, there was tension in the large boy's frame, too - and Genryuusai sighed, closing his eyes momentarily as he composed his inner emotions.

Kyouraku Shunsui. Ukitake Juushirou. As he thought each of them out in turn, he could pick up the threads of their reiatsu, distant yet still burning with the fire of life. It had relieved him at least to know that his students were not dead - yet till he had had confirmation from the Gotei that the Hollow threat had been removed, he would not act. So long as he knew the two First Years were alive and a safe enough distance from the flare of the Hollow's dark aura, that would have to do for now.

"Sensei, are we never going to go after them?" At length it was Enishi who broke the silence, consternation in his gaze. "It's been more than four hours now since they left the school, and if they're in trouble..."

"Until I know that Hollow has been properly dispatched, Enishi, I will not risk any more lives." Genryuusai said softly. "Your classmates are not killed - Endou, stop crying so pitifully, please. There are no corpses to shed tears over yet, and I mean to ensure there won't be, either. You're old enough to react with the dignity of an adult, after all - try and show it."

Hirata sniffled back his tears, gazing at his Headmaster hopelessly.

"I was worried." He murmured. "That I'd k...kept Ukitake-kun's s...secret and now h...he's hurt because I d...did."

"If he's hurt, it's due to his own reckless behaviour." Genryuusai said frankly, getting to his feet as he moved across the room towards them. "Kyouraku too. You were foolish, true, for not telling me the truth sooner - but even so, their mistakes are their own. Do you remember now what I said a few weeks ago, when I warned you about protecting those who didn't mean to take the rules seriously? Sometimes we are talking about life and death, not simply frivolities involving student hi-jinks."

His gaze flitted across to Ryuu.

"This applies to _you_, also." He said firmly, and Ryuu flinched, gazing at him in dismay. The boy's usual austerity had been completely shattered by the long wait, and as Genryuusai gazed at him, he saw the youngster as he truly was - a teenage boy no more poised than the rest of them, stripped bare from the pride of his Clan's colours. "You've already made it clear that you sensed when your classmates left the Academy grounds. Yet you said nothing about it until now. I expected more sense from you, Kuchiki. That is not the way a Noble son behaves."

Ryuu dropped his gaze, for once having no reply, and Genryuusai sighed.

"It was all Kyouraku-kun's fault." Hirata murmured viciously, clenching and unclenching his fists. "Ukitake-kun was worried about him, because of the Hollow. He only went to help Kyouraku-kun, Sensei - he wasn't trying to break the rules."

"And did he come to a member of staff for help?" Genryuusai demanded. Hirata flinched back, shaking his head.

"I think..he didn't want...Kyouraku-kun to...be punished again." He said softly, and Genryuusai sighed.

"Punishment is meant as a tool to teach." He said simply. "If the pupil avoids his lesson, how will he ever learn for the next time? Kyouraku is very gifted at avoiding things - classes, responsibilities, people. Ukitake does him no favours by protecting him in any regard and he should know better."

"But Ukitake is not Clan, Sensei." Ryuu found his voice at that moment. "He doesn't understand all things in the way we do."

"I had hopes of his good sense because he was not Clan, as you put it." Genryuusai said crushingly. "I've dealt with enough foolish Clansmen in my time to know that there is nothing superior about the way the Noble houses handle such problems."

At that moment there was a knock on the door, preventing Ryuu from making any response, and Genryuusai glanced up.

"Enter." He called, and the door slid back, revealing Urahara Yunosuke. He bowed quickly, anxiety in his pale eyes as he glanced at the gathered First Years and then at the teacher.

"Sensei, there's a message from Unohana-sama." He murmured. "The Hollow has been successfully dealt with and the area surrounding it is clear of any like reiatsu."

"And the boys?" Genryuusai asked. Yunosuke frowned, shaking his head.

"Not in the forest." He said simply. "Unohana-sama and the local representatives of First and Fourth Districts's squads checked the whole of the area nearest to the school boundaries, but they weren't anywhere to be seen. With the chaos of the incident, it wasn't possible to get a fix on their reiatsu - but it seemed as though they had left the immediate area."

"On foot? With Ukitake injured?" Enishi's eyes widened, and Yunosuke shrugged.

"That's all I know." He said frankly. "Sensei, what do you want us to do? If the students are hurt..."

"The boys are in a cave somewhere in the mountains that overlook the forest." Genryuusai said softly. "Ukitake is certainly hurt, though I can't be sure about Kyouraku. Still, both are alive. I would like them brought back to the school, Yunosuke. Since there is no threat of Hollows, I'm entrusting the task of searching for them to you. I can't leave the school in case a second Hollow incident occurs in this vicinity, and the events tonight have caused enough unrest that I dare not spare staff. It's an inconvenience, in this climate, that such a thing should happen. Still, I will alert the Healing Bay. Take with you whichever of your classmates is best skilled in healing Kidou - Madeki, I imagine - and two others in case their injuries are more serious than I thought."

"Yes, Sensei." Yunosuke nodded his head.

"I'm sorry to entrust this to you, but in the circumstances, there's noone more suitable." Genryuusai sighed, rubbing his beard absently as he did so. "Ensure that whoever you take is skilled in Shunpo, also. If another Hollow appears in that vicinity, I do _not _want you to engage it. Not even with your_ zanpakutou_ - I want you to put the safety of the boys first and bring them back to the school in as close to one piece as you can manage. Understood?"

"Yes, Sensei." Yunosuke bowed his head again, then was gone, the door sliding shut behind him.

"Can I go with him too, Sensei?" Enishi begged, and Genryuusai shot him a dark look.

"Just because your reiatsu sensing techniques are inferior to your classmates' does not make you off the hook." He said blackly. "Aside from the fact such inferior detection skills are shameful in one with your ability and potential, what use do you imagine you'd be out on the mountain? Did you not hear me say to Yunosuke that he was to take only those students skilled in Shunpo and healing Kidou? What do you imagine you could do in either of those regards?"

Enishi flushed red.

"Nothing." He admitted. "But I'm worried. About them. They're my friends. That's all."

Genryuusai sighed, shaking his head.

"I've finished with the three of you." He said at length. "You are dismissed back to your dorm, where you will remain until further notice. I will send a message when Ukitake and Kyouraku are brought back here - you will not be able to see or speak to either of them before I do, and there will be harsh penalties for any who disobey my instructions. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sensei." The three boys murmured, and Genryuusai gestured towards the door.

"Then go." He said frankly. "I will decide what punishment accomplices merit when I've had a chance to ascertain all the details of this situation - in the meantime, I don't wish to see or speak to any of you until tomorrow."

As the trio filed out, each one as quashed as the others, Genryuusai sank down into his chair, letting out his breath in a heavy sigh.

Kyouraku Shunsui. Ukitake Juushirou.

Slowly he tut-tutted under his breath.

_Perhaps Shunsui has reached that crossroads sooner than I thought he would. But even so - Juushirou, you were a fool to go after him. What were you trying to prove? To save your friend because you couldn't save your father? Foolishness costs lives. There's no glory in pointless sacrifice...are you going to make yourself learn that the hard way?_

His lips thinned.

_And then the other thing...the girl who came to the school. Shunsui, I will want an explanation from you. I don't want to send you away, after all. But if you continue to avoid things..._

_But then, maybe seeing a comrade injured because of your carelessness will be the making of you. Perhaps that time alone in that cave will serve as a lesson of a sort, after all. Delaying their rescue for this long was a gamble - I knew long before Yunosuke came that the Hollow had been taken out and that the boys were nowhere near the danger. But even so, sometimes harsh lessons are the best ones for teaching the important things. Not just for those two but for their silly young friends. Cameraderie. Responsibility. Weakness. Trust. All those things and more. And most of all the times when it's right to stay silent, and the times it's right to speak out._

He frowned, rubbing his beard absently once more.

_Though how they got to that mountain cave in such a short period of time still interests me. When things have quietened down somewhat, I can see I'll have to look further into that..._

* * *

It seemed like they had been there days, though Shunsui knew it had only been a couple of hours since they had faced the Hollow in the forest beyond.

He sighed, leaning up against the wall of the cave as he cast his companion a glance. Though he had let the other boy rest, Juushirou had not been able to sleep for long, his body rebelling against his attempts to soothe it with a second attack of coughing and blood. It had frightened Shunsui more than he had been willing to admit, seeing his capable, genial classmate so helpless and in so much pain, yet he knew there was little he could do except support the boy through the worst of his struggles.

Juushirou had spoken little in the meantime, huddled up some short distance away from him, and though the initial violence of the attack seemed to be at an end, Shunsui knew his classmate was far from all right. Even now he was still breathing heavily, fighting against the persistent spasms in his chest with a look of determination on his thin features. It was almost as though he was causing himself more pain by resisting them, and Shunsui wondered absently if it was for his own sake that Juushirou was battling so hard.

After all, he realised grimly, even if he had not said anything about his own fear, he was sure that his companion had picked it up in his aura nonetheless.

He frowned, reaching across to brush his companion's sweat-soaked brow, and muttering a curse at what he felt there. Even without any medical training, he knew that his companion's temperature was on the rise and that the cold, draughty cave was the worst place for him to be.

"You're hot." He murmured, and at his voice, Juushirou turned his head.

"I'm…all right." He gasped out. "I just…need to sit…for a while."

"Like hell you are." Shunsui said sharply. "We're in a freezing cave a mile from the school and you look like every breath you're taking is your last. What part of that is 'all right'? Don't lie. You hurt yourself, didn't you? Either that or the Hollow did something."

Juushirou shook his head, opening his mouth as if to refute his companion's words, but instead he was wracked by a third spasm of coughing, his fingers clawing at his chest as if physically trying to find a way to pull the air into his lungs. For a moment Shunsui stared at him, then, as blood began to bubble once more from his companion's lips, the young nobleman pulled himself together, grasping his classmate's thin form firmly and holding him tightly as the shudders ran through the other boy's body.

At length, they quieted, and Juushirou let out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes briefly in relief.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I didn't mean…you've…blood all over you too."

"People who save other people's lives shouldn't be saying sorry." Shunsui said frankly, not releasing his hold for one moment as he gazed at his companion anxiously. "I'm not kidding, though. You've made a mess of yourself in some way coming to help me._ I_ should be the one who's sorry."

Juushirou shook his head weakly.

"My choice." He whispered. "I didn't...listen...to you."

"Well, if you had, I'd be dead, so thanks for that at least." Shunsui sighed, eying his companion in resignation. "But I didn't mean you to go so far as that. I don't know what you did in that forest, but my advice is don't do it again any time soon, all right? I already know you're strong - you don't need to prove it to me. Okay?"

A faint smile touched Juushirou's lips, and despite himself, Shunsui was relieved to see even this slight sign of his companion's normal personality pushing through the terror and the pain. In the forest, he reflected, Juushirou had seemed like a complete stranger – a person whose tremendous power levels had even frightened him, yet even though it was clear his classmate was badly hurt, the tiny smile comforted him.

_Whatever that was, it doesn't matter. You are Juushirou still, after all – even with a flare like that – and for some reason, I'm more relieved to see that than anything._

"Are you going to be all right like this?" He asked aloud, and his companion nodded tentatively.

"I will." He agreed, speaking in muted tones as if to prevent the onset of another spasm. "It's just…when the Hollow…it reminded me of Father's death. And…my power surged…and I couldn't hold it back."

"That's right." Shunsui looked pensive, guilt piercing his heart as he remembered their earlier conversations on that subject. "You said in dorm one time that your Pa had been killed by a Hollow. I'm even more sorry, then…for making you relive a bad memory."

He eyed his classmate keenly.

"Though you really didn't have to come after me at all, you know. I don't understand why you did – especially given what happened. If you felt the Hollow, why not get a teacher?"

"I wanted…to bring you back." Juushirou swallowed hard. "If I...had gone to...Sensei...you'd get…into more trouble…for breaking bounds again."

"And you felt you had to take responsibility for that?"

"I suppose. You went to...help Megumi-san...after all. So I...came to help...you."

"You say some odd things." Shunsui murmured, inwardly making up his mind that this was neither the time nor the place to disclose to his classmate his gruesome discovery in the forest clearing.

"I already told you that it's not your problem. _I'm_ not your problem. It's not up to you to keep me out of trouble."

Juushirou looked rueful.

"Somehow...I feel like...it is." He managed, and Shunsui's eyes widened.

"Why on earth?"

"I...don't know." Juushirou admitted. "I just...felt it was...the right thing...to do."

"You really are an oddball, sometimes." Shunsui eyed him affectionately. "But somehow, I like it that way. When we get back to school, though, I'll take the rap for it. All of it. Your part too. Okay? I don't want you getting kicked out because I went off on a whim to find a hostess girl and didn't read the danger signs for myself. If I'd have been killed it would've been my bad - all you did was rescue me from being an idiot."

Juushirou offered another faint smile.

"I suppose it was…something like that."

He took another deep breath, then, "It's all right, Shunsui-kun. You can let me g…go now."

"Are you sure? You're shivering like crazy, even though you're burning up." Shunsui eyed him anxiously, nonetheless releasing his grasp and Juushirou dropped back against the wall with a sigh. Shunsui frowned, making up his mind as he untied his heavy cloak from around his throat.

"Here, you take this." He said, wrapping the thick, expensive fabric about his companion's shoulders before Juushirou could object.

"What about you?" Juushirou protested. "You'll freeze instead of me, if…if you g…give me your cape."

"Don't argue, you'll cough again." Shunsui said sharply. "Just do as you're told for once, all right? I owe it you. You came and you saved me, so the least I can do is keep you warm till we work out a way of getting back to the school. I can't carry you the whole way – you're heavier than you look, despite being skin and bone – and you can't walk there in this state. So take the cape and warm up, all right? I'm not going to listen if you try to complain…and if you take it off, I'll tie it to your _hakama_."

Juushirou stared at him for a moment, then he smiled.

""Kyouko-san _was_ right." He murmured. "You're much more…reliable than you…look, Shunsui-kun."

"Hardly, considering I got us into this mess." Shunsui sighed. "Even if I did have good intentions, I never thought it would end up like this."

He eyed his companion anxiously.

"Look, should you really be talking? I mean, dammit, you're never like this in school. You cough sometimes, but not like this. Not with blood everywhere."

"Maybe not, but th…this is quite n…normal." Juushirou seemed unperturbed, and colour was beginning to return to his cheeks.

"Normal?" Shunsui's eyes became huge, as his gaze flitted to the blood splatters on the ground and across the edge of both boys' clothing. "Would you mind telling me exactly what part of normal has you ejecting things that should definitely stay inside of your body into the outside world? Maybe you never got taught this as a kid, Juushirou-kun, but so far as I'm aware blood belongs where people can't see it. Choking it up is definitely, absolutely, not even _remotely_ normal."

"It is for me." Juushirou shrugged, and Shunsui stared at him, incredulous.

"How so?"

"I've had attacks like this all my life." Juushirou's breathing was beginning to steady now, and he gripped the edges of the cape, pulling it more tightly around his shivering form as he did so. "That's all. I'm used...to things like this. You're...only so alarmed...because it's the...first time you've...seen it."

"I think I'd be alarmed no matter how many times I saw it." Shunsui said frankly. "I was seriously worried about you, you know - and you're telling me it's some kind of stress up-chuck reflex?"

"No. It's not as simple as that." Juushirou shook his head. "And th...this time I did push...too far. My...spirit power...it's not weak. But m...my body is, so it c…can't handle my _reiryoku_ so good. Normally I...I suppress it really hard. Then I can...mostly...I'm all right. But if I'm using it...it's hard to know...when to stop."

He coughed, and Shunsui tensed, but this time there was no blood, and the older boy let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Don't." He ordered. "If talking makes it worse, don't talk, okay?"

"It's...okay...so long as I'm quiet...like this." Juushirou assured him. "Besides, it's not...just my _reiryoku_...that's the problem. My l…lungs are particularly bad, because I inherited the f…family's disease, so it just m…makes everything worse. But it's all right. Really. I've c…calmed down. I was frightened before...and it didn't help. But...but you're here...with me. So I'm not alone. And your cloak is helping…I'm not so cold, now."

He glanced at his hands.

"I probably sh…shouldn't try walking, though." He murmured. "I feel raw inside, and my...head is spinning."

Shunsui gazed at him for a moment, then he slowly shook his head.

"You really act like it's nothing, spewing up blood like this." He muttered. "You're that set on being a Shinigami that you don't care if it destroys you?"

"I'm here to l…learn how to use my skills in a way that they w…won't hurt me." Juushirou said simply. "Eventually, maybe, my attacks will be rarer. That's w…what I hope, anyway."

He cast his companion a smile.

"I h…have an idea, by the way. About what to do. Now w…we're stuck here."

"Go on?"

"I c…can't walk back, and you can't carry me. The Hollow is gone but it m…may come back, so we shouldn't s…stay here." Juushirou spoke carefully, yet Shunsui was reassured by the growing strength in his companion's voice. "They m…must know we're m…missing by now, though. I told Hirata-kun I was g…going after you so if we're not back s…someone will have realised. If they're l…looking for us, I think I know how to g…get their attention."

"I'm listening." Shunsui shifted himself against the hard surface. "Even if I'm about to be thrown out of the Academy, at least if I am, it'll mean sleeping somewhere less freezing and uncomfortable tonight. What do you suggest we do?"

"Kidou." Juushirou said simply.

"Huh?" Shunsui stared at him for a moment, and Juushirou's smile widened.

"Your s…_shakka-hou_ was pretty powerful, even if I d…did have to teach you the s…spell." He murmured. "I think, if…you could do that into the s…sky, someone would s…see it and realise where we were."

He glanced at his hands.

"I'd d…do it myself, but I daren't really r…risk it."

"No, you don't do anything." Shunsui pursed his lips. "I think I can remember the incantation, and I'll do it, don't worry."

He looked rueful.

"I mightn't have gone to any practical Kidou classes yet, and I might not pay attention to the theory, either." He added. "But I guess having noble blood has t'be useful for something, in the end. If the forest is anything to go by, I can shoot up a firecracker - I guess I'm starting to see the point of learning this stuff at last."

"That's something...at least." Juushirou nodded his head, amusement in his tired hazel eyes. "Though it's a waste, Shunsui-kun. That you can...fire a powerful spell like that, and...you don't want to learn how...to do it better."

"There are reasons." Shunsui said dismissively. "But for the time being, getting out of here is more important."

"You sure...you know the spell? If you make a mistake..."

"It's all right. I have a pretty good memory." Shunsui assured him. "And I heard you say it twice - once when you fired it, and once when you taught it me. I'm pretty sure I have it down - so you just sit tight and let me deal with it. Okay?"

"B...be careful." Juushirou warned. "In case the H...Hollow is still around. It...will sense you...after all."

"We're a long way from where that Hollow was, believe me." Shunsui said casually. "But it's all right. I'll keep it in mind."

He got to his feet, glancing at his hands as he did so.

"I'll be right back." He added. "Trust me and don't worry, okay?"

With that he stepped out into the darkness, pausing to gaze up at the clear moon that glimmered in the clear sky above his head.

_Perhaps I've been foolish, too. I never thought about learning Kidou for a situation like this._

He sighed, rubbing his hands absently together, then reaching up towards the stars, stiffening his stance in the way he had seen Juushirou do as he gathered the shreds of his reluctant _reiryoku_ together.

_I didn't want to learn because I didn't want to fight against Hollows. That hasn't changed...if anything, I feel more strongly that way now I've encountered one for myself. But even so, doing nothing is just as bad as doing the wrong thing, sometimes. I knew that already. I've been in that situation before. But I haven't learnt anything from it. And because of that, Juushirou got hurt._

He frowned, his eyes narrowing even as he began to murmur the spell, the words flowing through his lips as though speaking them was a natural impulse that he had only just begun to awaken.

_I suppose when you can't protect everything, you have to choose the thing you want to protect most._

_"Hadou no sanjuu-ichi, Shakka-hou!"_ He exclaimed, as light glittered across his palms, shooting a fire-bolt of ruby light up into the heavens. He took a breath into his lungs, feeling the buzzing, dizzy sensation of adrenalin rushing through his body at the effort, then he gathered his wits, focusing his thoughts once more on the matter at hand.

_I can see why Kazoe insists on us doing the dull as dishwater theory before he lets us near practical. My mind's all over the place, playing with fire. Probably I'll get into even more trouble for using Kidou without the proper training - but it can't be helped. Right now getting Juushirou help is more important - even if he says it's all right, he's fevered and hurt and the cold air up here isn't going to do him any good at all.  
_

He flexed his fingers again, focusing his mind as he shot a second and then a third bolt up into the night sky, each one becoming more focused and concise as his body began to compensate for the sudden use of spiritual energy. For a moment he watched, absently reminded of the Shiba-made fireworks that had welcomed his brother home as Leader of the Kyouraku-ke so many years earlier. Then he sighed, lowering his hands slowly. They still prickled and burnt with the energy he had expelled, and for the first time since he had arrived at the Academy, he felt worn out.

Yet even so, he also felt a sense of accomplishment curling up inside of him.

He had done what he could, after all. The rest was up to the school.

He ducked back into the cave, dropping down beside his friend with a sigh, and Juushirou cast him an anxious look.

"Are you all right?" He asked hoarsely, and Shunsui nodded.

"Yes. I'm fine." He agreed. "I'm just not used to doing something like that, that's all. I've no training or anything in technique, so I probably flared it all over the place. But it worked, so with any luck, someone will pick it up and come and find us."

He looked rueful.

"I'm out of breath for the first time this term." He added. "I guess I'm also not used to working hard."

"That's why…skipping classes is s…such a bad idea." Juushirou murmured, and Shunsui shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not a natural student, not like you are." He responded. "I was born lazy and incompetent...sorry about that."

Juushirou eyed him for a moment, then, slowly, he shook his head.

"I don't think so." He murmured. "In the forest, wh…when the Hollow was there, you f…fired that _Shakka-hou_ perfectly. Your aim, everything - and it w…was powerful. You hit the Hollow…square in the chest and…you knocked it over with the force of your c…cannon. Even Kuchiki-kun didn't do that the…the first time he fired that spell in class, and I h…had to work hard to g…get my spirit power to a place where it would l…let me fire the blast without coughing. He…and I are meant to be…the top two r…ranked in Kidou if you b…believe the assessment scores. But you..."

He pursed his lips, and Shunsui eyed him warily.

"But me?" He echoed, and Juushirou sighed, looking weary.

"Was that r…really the first time you'd ever used Kidou?"

"Yes." Shunsui nodded, looking surprised at the sudden change in angle. "I never did anything like that at home, and I spent most of my childhood escaping my education. The only Kidou I know is the little theory Kazoe-sensei's drummed into me in the extra remedial classes over the last few weeks - which really isn't much."

"You've never d…done Kidou, yet you fired it perfectly just b…based on instinct alone?"

"It sure was a lucky shot." Shunsui agreed, and Juushirou arched an eyebrow, shaking his head.

"No. It wasn't luck." He observed. "You _d…didn't_ think about it at all, did you? You just c…copied what I told you and yet it came out like…like that. That's not a fluke. It's not p…possible to fluke a sp…spell like that. And besides, I felt it too, when Ky…Kyouko-san came to s…speak to you. Your reiatsu changed - and I…wondered at it. Then in the forest...you're stronger than you let people see."

Shunsui smiled ruefully.

"I'm Clan." He said pragmatically. "And my father was a Shinigami, so it's not strange to think I might've inherited something from him. Several things, actually, if my kinsfolk are to be believed. Being Noble-born does gift you a certain amount of _reiryoku_. But strong? No. I don't know about that. I did something and it worked, basically because it had to work. _You_ were the one who was stronger, Juushirou - you came to my rescue, after all."

Juushirou shook his head slowly once more.

"Your reiatsu isn't average. N…not even for Clan." He murmured. "Which m…makes it all the more criminal, Shunsui-kun - that y…you don't use it. Not doing s…something when you can is worse than not b…being able to do it in the first place. You know that, right?"

Shunsui grinned, acknowledging to himself his companion's observation.

"Perhaps." He agreed. "But it's complicated, if people start talking about your potential and your abilities and all of those things. I didn't ask for the spiritual power I have, and I have my reasons for feeling the way I do. But in situations like this, it can't be helped. You came all this way to help me out, so I repaid it as best I could by using whatever I had to help you out. That's all."

"Then why not use that p…power in class, if you'll use it t..to rescue a classmate?"

"Because _you're_ worth rescuing. I see the point in that." Shunsui said frankly, causing his companion to stare at him in bewilderment. "I like you. You're honest and clear-cut and you don't have agendas for liking the people or the things that you do. School would be a lot more annoying without you, and I don't like situations where people get killed. So of course I'm going to help you. There's no question of that - after all, I'd like to think we're becoming friends. Of a sort, in any case. Right?"

"I...I suppose that's true." Juushirou bit his lip. "But..."

"But I don't feel the same way about what we learn in class." Shunsui's eyes darkened. "Like I said, I have my reasons for not wanting to be a Shinigami. I don't believe in things the way you do. So it's hard to motivate myself to try hard in those situations. I'm at the Academy because it was the better option of my brother's ultimatum. That's all. There's the difference."

"How can you n…not see helping Soul Society as worthwhile?"

"It's not about Soul Society. It's about the Clans, just like everything else in this world."

"But _I'm _not Clan. And you are, so why…do you hate it…so much?"

"It's complicated. Let's not discuss it here and now, huh?" Shunsui sighed, shaking his head as if to clear it. "I'm not sure if it would make sense to you, even if I tried."

"All right." Juushirou pursed his lips. "But you know, I still think it's unforgivable...having strength and not…not using it. You shouldn't try to c…coast or skip classes, at the very least. You have power. If you d…don't like the way Soul Society is now, then use that power to…to change it. After all, isn't that what…Genryuusai-sensei's…training us to do?"

"Yama-jii? Maybe. The others? Couldn't tell you. And it takes more than a few kids to change a whole world."

"It h…has to start somewhere." Juushirou said sensibly. "And we w…won't always be kids. Not if we keep going the way we are. You should…think about it, at least. If you h…have a gift, you ought to use it."

Shunsui eyed his classmate ruefully.

"You know, you're something else, Juu-kun." He added. "Even half-collapsed, fevered and shivering you're still managing to tell me what to do."

"I…didn't realise…you ever did what…I told you." Juushirou reflected. "Besides…I asked you…not to call me that. Didn't I?"

"You did." Shunsui acknowledged. "But I never did really understand why. It's not like I mean anything by it – and you don't seem to be the kind of person who stands on ceremony with names and such."

Juushirou shook his head.

"It's not that." He responded a wistful look entering his dark eyes. "Just…my F…Father was the…only one who…ever called me Juu-kun. Noone else does. That's all."

Shunsui stared at him for a moment, a faint flicker of envy stirring once more in his heart.

"You really loved your Pa, didn't you?" He murmured, and Juushirou reddened, nodding his head.

"More than anything." He admitted. "It's hard to explain. But…when someone l…loves you, even th…though you're so full of weaknesses, and…even though you…were the one whose life…was traded for someone else's, it means something. He loved m…me even though M…Mother died because of me. And he p…protected me against that H…Hollow, even though it c…cost him his life. He was…special. That's all."

He glanced down, and Shunsui was alarmed to see the glitter of tears in the boy's eyes.

"In my family, the w…weakness I have is k…known as a curse." He murmured, his voice breaking more from suppressed emotion than from physical pain. "And because of that curse my Mother and F…Father both lost their lives. That's why I'm here, Kyouraku-kun. Even if it…it's hard sometimes, or it…hurts to push myself. B…because they loved me and b…believed in me to be here. So I w…won't let them down."

Shunsui sighed, then stretched his arm out casually around the other boy's thin shoulders, pulling the stray flaps of the cloak more firmly over his classmate's body.

"Shunsui-kun?" Juushirou stared at him, and the older boy smiled.

"You're fevered and you're tired and if you carry on like that you'll be babbling out all kinds of things you don't want me to know." He said softly. "You've already made me feel thoroughly ashamed of myself - let's leave it there, shall we?"

"Ashamed of yourself?"

"Yes. For making you relive such a horrible memory." Shunsui murmured. Juushirou smiled sadly.

"It's a memory I'll n…never let go of. I can't, because it k…keeps me going forward." He replied. "It's all right, Shunsui. You don't have to…to feel like that."

"Nonetheless, I do." Shunsui shrugged. "I've never had a bond with anyone that's quite like that one - living or dead. I suppose I don't fully understand it - and perhaps I envy it a little, if I'm honest. But I didn't mean to make this all worse for you."

"You can let me go, you know. I'm n…not about to collapse or fall apart." Juushirou objected.

"You're not the only one feeling the cold. And you're starting to shiver again." Shunsui said frankly. "This way it's easier to conserve heat."

"I'm stronger than that, you know."

"Yes, I know." Shunsui shrugged. "But humour me all the same. You're not coughing now, and if keeping you warm helps with that, then I'm all for it."

"You're not...disgusted by me?" Juushirou shot him an apprehensive look, and it was Shunsui's turn to look bewildered.

"Disgusted? Why the hell?"

"Coughing up b…blood isn't exactly nice." Juushirou bit his lip, looking self-conscious and awkward. "When I was s…small, I used to do it a lot more, although my attacks only b...became as violent as they are now after...after Father died.. It's one of the reasons I didn't m…mix much as a child. Father protected me, because he didn't w…want me to be hurt by people outside. Visitors to the estate either w…wanted to peer at me, or they w…wanted to keep their distance. Though Hiro-kun and my other siblings had fr…friends in neighbouring homes, I never did. I was always with my f…family and it was always enough. But it was because...Father was afraid that they'd be cruel to me. Because of what I am - the c…cursed child with the wh…white plague that runs through our family line like poison."

"I see." Shunsui's eyes narrowed. "They thought they might contract something by coming in contact with you? Or that speaking to you might hex them in some way?"

"Something like that, I suppose." Juushirou looked sad. "I didn't understand it as a…a child, but I came to, as I g…got older. I didn't really talk to…to anyone about it, because I knew they'd w…worked so hard to protect me. But because they had, I…I knew it was the case. The Academy is the f…first time I've been away from my h…home environment in my l…life. Which is why I w…wanted so much to m…make it work."

He sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I haven't lied about my h…health, nor intentionally kept it s…secret." He added. "But I have d…downplayed it as much as possible, I admit it. Attacks like this aren't as c…common these days, and I hoped I w…wouldn't show that side of me to the people I'd meet here. It's not c…contagious, after all. It's inherited. No one is g…going to get sick from b…being around me. But even so - I l…look and seem strange to people."

"You look and seem strange because you're up-front and not swayed by Noble connections." Shunsui said bluntly. "It's not a pretty greeting ritual, true enough - and I wouldn't advise using it as a courting technique unless you're really desperate for options. But you needn't be worried about my opinion. I've been disgusted by a lot of people in my life - but you're not one of them. Spitting up blood is nothing in comparison to the ugly character deformities I've come across in the past seventeen years. You at least can't help your flaws, after all. They can. You're fine, trust me. Better like this than twisted up and corrupted by power and wealth."

"Shunsui?" As a note of bitterness touched the older boy's tones, he saw consternation in his classmate's hazel eyes and he smiled, shaking his head sheepishly.

"No, it's nothing." He said dismissively. "The important thing is that I'm not disgusted by you at all. I've seen blood and enough of it to know I don't like seeing it - but you can't help it that things are this way."

"You seemed scared of it, when I c…came round. I was w…worried you were scared of _me_, because of it."

"Scared _for _you. Not _of _you." Shunsui shook his head, seeing the apprehension in Juushirou's hazel gaze and making up his mind in that instant to say nothing about how the sudden and tremendous swell in his friend's reiatsu had made him feel in the forest clearing. "I was terrified you were going to choke your last, if you want the truth. But I never had a thought about whether or not I might catch it, or anything else like that. My only thought was 'what the hell do I do?', nothing else."

He smiled.

"It takes more than a little blood to frighten me. I've faced Yama-jii and lived." He said casually, and despite himself, Juushirou grinned, relief and gratitude in his hazel eyes.

"I'm glad, though, in a way...that I've seen th…this side of you." He murmured, tension seeping out of his thin frame as he sank back against his friend with a sigh. "Because you d…didn't make any sense, before. And I wasn't sure if I c…could trust in someone who was totally irresponsible. But you…you're not, so it's fine. You're strong and y…you're reliable when it counts, after all. Somehow, I'm glad. Because in the end, w…we make a good team. Don't we?"

"We do." Shunsui agreed, a sudden sense of warmth welling up inside of him at his companion's simple, honest words. "Of course, it might be a short-lived team, if I'm expelled after this little adventure. But either way, I'm glad too. You're an interesting person, Juushirou. You're not like anyone I've ever met, and that's the truth."

"Funny." Juushirou managed a wry smile. "People often s…seem to say that. That I'm n…not what they expected. Even Okaasama…when she first married Father…was surprised by me. I guess…I just…don't fit any particular m…mould. I'm d…determined not to be the s…sickly invalid everyone p…pities, so m…maybe I work too hard at b…being more than that sometimes."

"That's not a bad thing." Shunsui grinned. "To be honest, that's the reason you're someone I'd want as a friend. I'm not an argumentative person and I don't like causing disharmony, because feuds are much too much hassle to keep up with and they never end well. But even so there aren't very many people in this world I'd actually make the effort to call my friend. But spending time with you is never dull. And no matter what happens – somehow I never doubt that you're telling the truth."

He frowned, a sheepish look flickering across his brown eyes.

"That was a bit pompous. Sorry." He amended. "I guess I can't squash all of the Clan blood inside of me. I don't mean it that way. It's just that you're refreshing in the way you handle things and people. And I suppose I didn't expect to find that when Tokutarou-nii shipped me off here. You're totally the opposite from me in a lot of ways. You don't sit back and let things happen but you get involved – with Hirata-kun, then Kuchiki – Houjou too, most likely. You've gone in there and made friends with them whether they've been ready for you to do so or not. It's a power I'm sort of jealous of, if you want the truth. But if I can't have it…I guess the next best thing is spending time with someone who does."

Juushirou stared at him, then he smiled.

"You m…make me sound like an interfering…busybody." He whispered, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Not that." He assured him. "But it is a talent, nonetheless. Even though some people have given you a hard time from the start, you seem able to win them over. Take Kuchiki, for example. He's the worst example of Clan elitism you'll ever meet – but you've ignored that and determinedly reached out to him – so now he's consciously spending time with you. He's even giving you his advice…whether you want it or not. For you to win over a Kuchiki is pretty much paramount to a golden handshake in Clan terms – but I doubt you've even thought of it that way. Have you?"

"No." Juushirou admitted. "Kuchiki-kun…seems lonely to me. That's all. He's n…not very good w…with people. But he's not unkind. We j…just had a misunderstanding to b…begin with. If we're f…friends now, then so much to the g…good."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about." Shunsui grinned. "It's hard to explain, but I'd almost believe you had the power to make allies even of your enemies. And that's a pretty strong trait to have - maybe eventually you _will _win them all over after all."

"At least, I can try." Juushirou murmured, a sleepy note in his words, and Shunsui chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"You can." He agreed. "But right now, get some rest. I'll stick by you till help comes, so don't worry about taking a nap. You need it, after all."

"Mm. Maybe." Juushirou said blurrily, then, "Thank you, Shunsui...kun."

With that his eyes flickered closed, and as his companion's hoarse breathing began to stabilise, Shunsui sighed, leaning up against the cool cave wall.

"And now I just have to wait for help to come." He murmured. "I hope they don't take too long."

He tightened his grip on his friend's body as an involuntary shiver wracked through the boy's thin frame, and despite himself he felt another pang of guilt wash over him.

_You really are just skin and bone, aren't you? Sora said so, but somehow when you're animated and involved in things, it doesn't seem like anything could knock you down. Yet right now...right now its as though you're fragile enough that if I let go of you, you might even break. _

He sighed.

_Even if I didn't ask you to come after me, I should have known that you would. If I'd taken you from the start, maybe then there wouldn't have been so much danger. Maybe one of us would've sensed the Hollow sooner, and headed back to school. You knew, after all, that it was there...even while I was engrossed in examining Megumi's body. And maybe I was still a little shaken up from that...but it's no excuse for having been that careless. _

He closed his eyes, visualising the school principal in his mind's eye. Genryuusai had not yet let his students see even a hint of the legendary power that had made him a force to be reckoned with even among the Clans of Seireitei, but Shunsui had picked up flickers of it in the old man's eyes from time to time and he knew that the stories were not exaggerated. That a fire hotter than Hell's own burned within Genryuusai's blade was beyond all doubt - and from the moment he had realised it, Shunsui had fervently hoped he would never come to see his teacher angry.

Although, he reasoned, disciplining a lowly, insignificant first year student for a repeat offence probably did not merit bringing out the full force of Ryuujinjakka's unequalled wrath.

_Yama-jii will probably have the whip out, mind you - if I'm lucky enough to just get a beating. More likely it'll be the last straw - he'll give me the beating and then send me back where I came from. He'll let Tokutarou-nii deal with me - and probably think that it's good riddance to bad rubbish._

A faint sense of sadness touched him at that moment, and he frowned, shaking his head as if to clear it.

_What was that? Disappointment? In myself or in the idea of leaving the Academy? I can't want to stay there so much as all that, surely? I was cornered into sitting that exam by Tokutarou-nii - none of this was ever of my own volition. And I don't want to be a Shinigami - I don't want to be a killer for my Clan, not like my Father was. So what, then? Why do I feel like this? _

A wry, humourless grin touched his lips.

_Careful, Shunsui. You're starting to sound like you're forming an attachment to that place. Or maybe...maybe not the place, but the people there._

He opened his eyes, glancing at Juushirou's sleeping form again. Though his normally pale cheeks were flushing now with the encroaching fever, the steady rise and fall of the boy's chest continued to reassure him, and he sighed.

_Maybe it's you, after all. Moving straight forward without any agendas or ulterior motives for doing so. In that way you remind me a little of Saku, holding onto the freedom that I've never been able to find. You don't know how lucky you are, Juu-kun. To be able to do something simply because you believe in it. And because you believe in it, I won't let you take the rap for any of this. Whatever happens, I'll make absolutely for sure of it. Whatever Yama-jii does to me - I won't let him send you home. It's a paltry payback for saving my life - but if its all I can do for now, it'll have to do._

_After all, noone's ever risked their life to save mine before. And even if it was reckless, and even if I joke about it later - I won't forget it_.

"Kyouraku! Ukitake!"

A faint voice from somewhere outside the cave startled him at that point, and he jerked upright, straining to hear anything that might indicate he hadn't imagined it. His senses were exhausted already, from the trauma of the evening and from his unconscious protection of his stricken friend, yet somehow he knew they were no longer alone, and that someone had at last come from the school to find them.

"Kyouraku? Ukitake! Are you here? If you can hear me, shout!"

A dark shape blocked the entrance of the cave, silhouetted for a moment by the moonlight behind him, and Shunsui let out a sigh of relief, adrenalin coursing out of his weary body as he recognised the speaker.

"Anideshi?" He murmured, and Yunosuke nodded, dropping down beside them and casting Juushirou an anxious glance. Behind him came another student, who quickly put a hand to Juushirou's brow.

"Sensei was right. This one's done himself in." He murmured. "Yunosuke, we'll have to carry him...no doubts there."

"What about you, Kyouraku? Can you stand?" Yunosuke asked, as the second student carefully lifted the still unconscious Juushirou from his companion's protective grip, and Shunsui shrugged, a rueful smile touching his lips as he realised he too now was shivering.

"I...honestly, I don't know." He admitted. "A minute ago I'd have t...told you yes, but..."

"Hang onto Ukitake, Madeki." Yunosuke turned to his companion, whose fingers were already glittering with a taint of Kidou Shunsui didn't recognise. "Gujihara! Come give Unohana a hand with this kid, will you? He's out for the count."

"It's all right, Yunosuke. He's light as a feather - I can manage to get him back on my own." Unohana Madeki said quickly. "You deal with Kyouraku. I'll head back now."

In a moment he was gone, his reiatsu still buzzing faintly in the place that he had stood, and Shunsui stared at the empty air blankly, as if struggling to comprehend what he had seen.

"Shunpo, kid." Yunosuke told him briskly. "We'll be taking you back that way, too."

"Shunpo, huh?" Shunsui murmured, and Yunosuke nodded.

"Yes. Like the stuff Aitori probably teaches you in...oh, but you won't be beginning anything like that yet, will you? First years never do get to do practical Shunpo - believe me, it's much more convenient when you can master a skill like that."

Shunsui's eyes narrowed slightly, digesting this, and Yunosuke got to his feet, carefully pulling his junior up with him. Shunsui stumbled, his knees buckling under him, and Yunosuke frowned.

"Hey, kid, was it you who fired those rockets into the air?"

"You s...saw those?" Shunsui demanded, and Yunosuke nodded.

"As we reached the forest." He agreed. "Three firecrackers, they were. But your fingers are charred and you look all in. You ought to be careful, though - Kidou can attract Hollows, if you use it carelessly."

"I w...wanted to bring Juushirou...help." Shunsui murmured, as the world swayed and twisted around him, and he cursed, digging his nails into the palms of his hands as he fought against the humiliation of his dizziness. "He was hurt, you see. But I...that was...today was the f...first time I...ever used..._shakka-hou_. So I g...guess I w...was a l...little bit...reckless."

"First time, huh?" Yunosuke eyed him keenly. "Then you should take my advice and keep working on it. You've got a talent for it, it seems."

"And...f...for g...getting into t...trouble." Shunsui said faintly, as the world faded in and out of focus.

"Hey, stay with me. Keep talking." Yunosuke said sharply, giving him a brisk shake. "Gujihara? Dammit, are you out there or am I talking to myself?"

"I'm here, Urahara." A tall, stocky boy with glasses entered the cave at that moment, his appearance immediately giving him away as one of Enishi's kinsmen. "What's up? I thought you wanted me to keep watch for Hollows?"

"Mm, but Madeki's taken the other kid back to school and I want your help with Kyouraku." Yunosuke said briskly. "He's about at his limit, and your shunpo is smoother and swifter than mine. Can you take him back and report for me? I'll be right behind you - I'll go find Haru and we'll follow you."

"Understood." Gujihara nodded his head, grasping hold of Shunsui as if he were no more than a rag doll. "Stick it out for a minute, kid. We'll be back at school sooner than you know it."

With that the world around them went swirly and black, and as the haze engulfed him, Shunsui realised vaguely that the sensation was somehow familiar.

_So it __**was **__Shunpo then, after all._

Displeasure curled up inside of his stomach at the cold, hard realisation.

_Not just my instinct or native speed, but something Shinigami do as a matter of course. Dammit, even if I don't try...am I going to turn out as my Father's son, regardless? The exam, the Kidou, now Shunpo...no matter how hard I try not to do something, am I really going to be stuck doing it after all?_

In the next instant they were at the school gates, and without missing a beat, Gujihara swept him along the pathway and up the steps, taking him in through the big double doors and along the hallway which led to the Healing Bay. Faintly Shunsui could feel the flickers of Juushirou's reiatsu growing closer and somehow this proof that his classmate had made the trip safely comforted him even just a little. His guide deposited him back on his feet, and much to Shunsui's relief, he found he had stopped shaking enough to be able to stand on his own.

That comfort was to be short-lived, however, for the next moment the door of the Bay opened, and Shunsui found himself face to face with Genryuusai himself. In the room beyond, he caught the briefest glimpse of a flash of white _haori_, and at it, his eyes widened.

_Gotei? Here? But why?_

The next moment his curiosity had been overtaken by fear, as a wizened hand was clamped down on his arm, and Genryuusai's steely gaze bore into Shunsui's own.

"We'll go to my office." He said softly. "We have things to talk about, and here is not a suitable place to do it."


	12. A Matter of Murder

**Chapter Eleven: A Matter of Murder**

"They're back."

Ryuu turned away from the dorm window, sinking down onto his bunk as he absently began to loose the white ties from his hair, running his fingers through the shoulderlength waves as he did so. "It's as Sensei said, after all - they're alive, and Anideshi's brought them back."

"Ukitake-kun!" Hirata was on his feet in a moment, but Enishi frowned, holding out his hands to pull the young boy back.

"Hold on there." He advised. "We were told to stay here until further notice. Weren't we? So we will. All of us. Kuchiki's wits are sharp enough to have told us what we wanted to know - if they're back here, and alive, that's all that matters. Isn't it?"

"Aside from the fact that the three of us are far from off the hook." Ryuu said darkly. "And I cannot imagine what Sensei will have in mind for Kyouraku and Ukitake, given the concern they have caused to everyone. Ukitake can perhaps be forgiven - going to help a classmate in trouble is at least a sign of his Kuchiki honour coming through. But what on earth possessed Kyouraku to take off after some local town girl? Providing, of course, that that's where he went after all."

"Ukitake-kun only said that he'd gone to help a friend in trouble." Hirata murmured hesitantly. "Not that it was a girl."

"Maybe it was something else, then." Enishi reflected. "Kuchiki, didn't you say that the girl who came here left in a different direction to Ukitake and Kyouraku?"

"She did." Ryuu confirmed. "But more than that I do not know. Her reiatsu was extremely feeble and very muddled. Tainted with illicit drugs, no doubt - and certainly far beneath a Clan bloodline."

He sighed, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"My Father will be cross, if this becomes a scandal and he believes I'm somehow involved with such things." He said heavily.

"I doubt it'll come to that." Enishi said sensibly. "Now they're here, after all, and alive. They might get a yelling at - perhaps a beating or confinement or some other kind of punishment. But no harm was done, in the end. And Genryuusai-sensei's not unreasonable. I'm sure it'll be fine now, once it all dies down."

"What a pleasure it must be to live in your simple world, Houjou." Ryuu said acidly. "But even if he is your kinsman, I very much doubt Sensei is going to just let it slide by. He was angry before - very angry, in fact. And I would not like to be either one of those two, when he decides to unleash that anger."

"Ukitake-kun is hurt, though, isn't he?" Hirata looked alarmed. "If Sensei gets angry with him, maybe..."

"Oh, he won't do it while Ukitake's injured." Ryuu shook his head impatiently. "But it'll come, though, of that I am sure. You can mark my words, Hirata. This is the beginning - it is not the end."

"It seems quiet up here, just the three of us." Enishi murmured. "Where's Shihouin in all this, anyway? He hasn't come up yet, either."

"Shihouin's actions are nothing to do with any of us." Ryuu said coolly. "Whatever secret places he's sneaking off to, Houjou, those things do not concern us. In fact, it is nice to be able to talk freely without him eavesdropping. I do not trust that one even an inch - the Shihouin have little enough honour, and he none at all."

"If you're going to fight with him, Kuchiki-kun, I'm glad he's not here either." Hirata sighed, and Enishi stared at him at the uncharacteristically forthright statement. "I have a headache and I'm worried about Ukitake-kun. Do you suppose...when Sensei lets us leave here, we will be able to see him?"

"Probably, at some point." Enishi nodded. "Don't look so frightened, Hirata - Ukitake's a lot tougher than he looks. We both know that."

"I wonder if Kyouraku will be sent back here tonight." Ryuu reflected, and Enishi shrugged.

"If he's in one piece, perhaps." He agreed. "Unless he's put into solitary, or something like that. Then we'll know how Ukitake is, Hirata - Kyouraku'll know better than us."

"I'm not speaking to Kyouraku-kun and I don't care if he comes here tonight or he doesn't." Hirata's pale eyes darkened and he folded his arms across his chest, uncharacteristic obstinacy filling his expression with a rare sense of purpose. "This is all _his_ fault. Ukitake-kun is hurt and he might get into more trouble because Kyouraku-kun gets himself into stupid situations. So I'm _not _talking to him. And he can do what he likes. _I don't care._"

"Yeesh, Hirata, calm down!" Enishi's eyes widened. "What's gotten into you tonight - you're acting completely unlike yourself!"

Ryuu's eyes narrowed, and he eyed Hirata pensively.

"The Endou blood, perhaps, coming out at last." He murmured, and Hirata flinched, shaking his head firmly.

"No. _Not_ that." He said vehemently. "I'm just worried about Ukitake-kun, that's all. He's my friend. And..."

He faltered, biting his lip, and Ryuu sighed.

"Don't cry again." He ordered. "Men don't cry, Hirata, and it's pitiful when one of your level and ability does it. Houjou is correct about Ukitake - he is strong despite his appearance. And in the end, Ukitake decided to go after Kyouraku. The blame lies with both of them...Kyouraku was the first fool, but Ukitake was almost as big a one in return."

Hirata's expression darkened, but he said nothing, and Enishi sighed.

"When Sensei cuts us loose, I'll ask when we can see Ukitake, okay?" He said slowly, his tone conciliatory as he tried to soothe the boy's ruffled feelings. "As a kinsman, he might be kinder to me if I ask - and I can try, anyway. All right?"

Hirata eyed him for a moment, then, very slightly, he nodded.

"Yes." He murmured. "Thank you, Houjou-kun. Because no matter what anyone says, I won't be able to rest until I see for myself that Ukitake-kun is all right."

* * *

For a moment after they entered the study, there was silence. Then, Shunsui gathered his courage, rubbing his left foot idly against his right ankle as he attempted to meet Genryuusai's gaze.

"Sensei, the person...with Juu..._Ukitake_-kun...was that...?"

"Unohana Retsu." Genryuusai agreed briskly. "Of the Gotei's Healing Squad. But you knew that, didn't you? You've seen the _haori _before, after all."

Shunsui said nothing, and Genryuusai frowned.

"Your family has a long tradition in serving with the Gotei just as mine and Unohana's have." He said quietly. "Yet you seem determined to gainsay that destiny and prove yourself a failure. I don't understand it, and I know your brother doesn't, either. He sent you to me because he didn't know what else he should do with you, after all. Do you not realise how much this is your last chance to make something of yourself?"

Shunsui swallowed hard, but did not respond, and Genryuusai's brow seemed to become even more wrinkled with consternation.

"I understand that you had a visit this afternoon, as well." He said softly. "From a young woman."

Shunsui bit his lip, a moment of anxiety paralysing him as he remembered Megumi's mangled body, then he got a grip on himself, slowly nodding his head.

"Yes, sir." He said quietly. "I did."

"I'd like an explanation of your conduct, if you please."

"I owed her coin from the last time I saw her." Shunsui said slowly. "She came to claim it. When we'd spoken, she left. That's all."

"And you decided to hare off into the undergrowth for what purpose?"

"I wasn't with her, Sensei. I wasn't with anyone. I left campus alone."

"Knowing the risk of breaking your curfew...?"

"I..." Shunsui faltered for a moment, then steeled himself, nodding his head.

"Yes, Sensei. I knew, and I still went." He said frankly, meeting Genryuusai's gaze yet hardly knowing how he dared do so when the faint embers of that internal fire were clearly beginning to flicker in the man's eyes. "Ju.._Ukitake_-kun didn't have anything to do with that. He came to keep me out of trouble, not for any other reason. Everything that's happened tonight is my fault in its entirety - please don't punish him for his part in it."

"Ukitake knows the rules as well as you do, Kyouraku Shunsui." Genryuusai said inexorably, and Shunsui bit his lip.

"I know." He murmured. "And I didn't ask him to come, either. But he felt the Hollow - and he came because he thought I was in danger. It reminded him of his Father...and so he came. That's why. I guess he couldn't bear it - staying and doing nothing when someone was in danger."

"And your own reason for leaving campus in the first place?"

Shunsui bit his lip, dropping his gaze. There was a moment of silence, then,

"No matter what my reasoning, Sensei, I still left without permission and I still broke your restrictions on me." He murmured. "So it doesn't really matter, does it, why I did? In the end the crime is the same."

"And you have no mitigating circumstances you'd like to raise?"

"Mitigating circumstances?" Shunsui closed his eyes briefly, the sick, giddy feeling returning as he remembered the feeling of finding Megumi's body just moments too late. "No. I have none, Sensei. Punish me as you see fit. I accomplished nothing useful this evening. I did nothing of any good to anyone."

Another moment of silence, and Shunsui felt his companion's reiatsu flicker faintly, then settle.

"Endangering a classmate's life is a serious offence." He said softly. "In those circumstances, there's no reason to show you any particular mercy."

Before Shunsui could answer, however, there was a sharp rap at the door, and Genryuusai frowned, his gaze flitting to the wooden divide.

"Enter." He called, and the door slid back to reveal Yunosuke, his expression troubled as he bowed his head towards the old man.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Sensei, but Unohana-sama wanted me to report to you right away." He said quietly. "This evening, when carrying out Sensei's orders, we came across the body of a young woman in the forest - in a place not far from where the Hollow's reiatsu was first detected. The reiatsu of both Ukitake Juushirou and Kyouraku Shunsui were also detected nearby."

Shunsui stiffened, alarm flooding his expression, and Genryuusai's gaze narrowed to near slits.

"I see." He said quietly, his gaze shifting back in Shunsui's direction. "A young woman, you say? Was she a victim of the Hollow?"

"No, sir." Yunosuke hesitated, then, "It seemed like her throat had been slit, Sensei."

"Slit?" Genryuusai faltered for a moment, as though he had not expected this. Then he frowned. "I see. And this was within the vicinity that the Hollow's reiatsu was first detected?"

"Yes, Sensei. Though it seems to have been beyond the area where the Shinigami patrol met and dealt with the Hollow."

"Well, Kyouraku?" Genryuusai's tones rippled with suppressed anger. "Your expression tells me you know something of this matter - Perhaps you'd tell me the truth this time. I dislike those who seek to deceive me - I will find it harder to forgive you the more times you lie in my presence."

Shunsui swallowed hard, finding his resolve crumbling under Genryuusai's stern gaze.

"You knew that girl, didn't you?"

"...Yes, Sensei." The words were no more than a whisper.

"More, you knew that she had died this evening. Didn't you?"

"Y...yes."

"And what else? Did you go into the forest this evening to meet with her?"

"N...not exactly, sir." Shunsui gathered together the scattered shreds of his courage, swallowing the bile that rose in his throat as he raised scared eyes to his teacher's. "I went to...to try and help her. But I was too late. I couldn't do anything, after all."

Genryuusai processed this for a moment, then,

"And you know, then, this girl's name?"

"Megumi, sir."

"Megumi? Just Megumi?"

"That's all I knew her as."

"Yunosuke, what kind of girl was this that you found in the forest this evening?" Genryuusai turned his attention back to his older student, who frowned, pursing his lips.

"She looked like a girl from one of the local settlements, sir. A hostess, or tavern girl. Something like that."

"Not Clan?"

"No sir. Not Clan."

"I see. Yet her throat was slit?"

"Yes, sensei."

"Very well. And the girl's body?"

"Haru and I brought it back to the school, Sensei. We didn't really know what else to do - but we both felt it might...well, that you might want to see it, Sir." Yunosuke hesitated, then, "Sensei, the girl's injuries were not...casual or accidental. That's all."

Shunsui stared at his senpai in disbelief.

"Back to the..._school_?" He demanded, forgetting for a moment where he was, and Yunosuke frowned, nodding his head.

"It was a suspicious circumstance." He said simply. "Genryuusai-sensei is the most local representative of District One's ruling Clan. Therefore he needed to know about it."

"Clan." Shunsui muttered, and Genryuusai's eyes narrowed at the dismissive tone in the boy's words.

"Thank you, Yunosuke." He held up his hand. "You have my authority to leave the girl's remains with Unohana Retsu-dono and let her determine the cause of death in a more exact manner. You and your classmates are no longer required. Please do not discuss your findings with anyone outside of myself or Retsu-dono until further notice. Understand?"

"Yes, Sensei." Yunosuke bowed, then withdrew, leaving the two once more alone.

A terrible silence fell over the study, then Genryuusai sighed.

"I'm going to try again." He said softly. "Kyouraku, what do you know about this girl, 'Megumi?"

Shunsui hesitated, then he sighed, shaking his head.

"Nothing." He murmured. "Except her name and that she was in trouble."

"And the other girl that came to see you...she was the one who asked you to do something to help this Megumi?"

"Yes."

"Where is the other girl now?"

"I don't know. I sent her to Oniisama's land. I was going to write to him and let him know to help her, somehow."

"To Tokutarou's land." Genryuusai looked thoughtful. "Then you have more ideas about this situation than you're telling me. You don't believe that this girl was murdered randomly, do you?"

"I don't know what happened to her." Shunsui said honestly. "Except that she died just a short time before I found her. And while I was there, with her, the Hollow took me by surprise. Who brought her there, or why exactly - I don't know. Just that she'd been in some trouble with someone...and that was all."

"And that is the truth?"

"Yes, Sensei."

"Ukitake? What does he know of this?"

"He knew that Kyouko had come to speak to me, but I told him to stay behind when I went to see Megumi." Shunsui said slowly. "He sensed the Hollow and came after me. I don't know if he saw her body. He didn't mention it...and I didn't tell him she was dead."

"Why did you not alert a member of staff to your concerns?"

"Megumi wasn't the kind of girl most Noble Clan-folk would want to help." Shunsui said bitterly. "And especially not the Gotei."

"It seems to me like you hate the Gotei." Yamamoto looked surprised, and Shunsui sighed, nodding his head.

"I do hate it." He said honestly. "I've always done. Because it means holding weapons and killing in the name of family pride and glory. And I don't want any part of that, Yama-jii."

His eyes widened as he realised that he'd let the casual nickname slip from his lips, and he took a step back, registering that his brother's warning had after all come true.

_Damn, but after tonight how could I be in my full senses? Megumi's murdered, Yama-jii's firing questions, Juushirou's hurt...it's a wonder I'm still standing, considering all of that!_

"Even if we are alone, my boy, I'm not sure that you should use such a familiar term of address for me when I've brought you here to scold you for your wild behaviour." Genryuusai warned. "The fact that I knew your father, and am closely acquainted with your brother is not going to act as a shield for you, you know, no matter what you say."

"I don't want it to." Shunsui shook his head hastily. "I'm sorry, Sensei. I didn't mean..."

He sighed.

"It'd be a lot easier if I wasn't ever born into the Kyouraku family at all." He murmured, resignation in his dark eyes. "Ukitake-kun doesn't know how lucky he is. Everything he does is because he _wants_ to do it. He _believes_ in doing it. Me, I'm not that way. I know too much about it...what it means. What happens if you're part of the Gotei...and what happens if you don't follow that duty to the letter. I know how noble families work, Sensei. And I don't want any part of it."

He sighed.

"I wasn't going to talk about Megumi because I didn't know what to say, and I still don't." He added. "But I'm still willing to take all the blame for tonight. I might not believe in the Gotei, but Juushirou really does. And he should have the chance to follow what he believes in – it's not his fault he got associated with an idiot like me."

"I have no intention of punishing Ukitake." Genryuusai shook his head, and Shunsui's eyes widened.

"But...?"

"I believe he's punished himself enough, letting loose that much raw energy without first knowing how to control it." Genryuuai reflected. "His body isn't strong enough for that kind of reiatsu flare just yet - even with Unohana's gentle ministrations, it will be a few days before he's fit and well enough to rejoin his classmates. And I imagine, for one like him, a few days convalescence will be worse punishment than anything else I can devise."

He smiled slightly.

"Unohana's skills are effective, but I imagine that they will be less than pleasant for him while he's still so tender." He added.

Shunsui's gaze flickered with comprehension and relief, and he looked rueful.

"I suppose that's true." He reflected, realising as he did so that the earlier oppressiveness between them had dissipated somewhat. "He's totally different from me in that respect. He doesn't like to be doing nothing, whereas I..."

"_You_ are quite another problem." Genryuusai sighed heavily. "We'll put the matter of the murdered girl aside for the moment - though you realise that had you been at a level where you were able to carry a blade, you might even be suspected of causing her death? And it's not just this one incident, after all. It's far more than that. It's a general insubordination - this stubborn bitterness that rears its ugly head every time any responsibility comes your way. You are disrespectful, lazy and troublesome and what's worse, you're doing it entirely on purpose. Tokutarou knew it and so do I. Your words about the Gotei only strengthen that fact - that you're going out of your way to appear incompetent and useless rather than it actually being the case. That, in itself, is almost twice as unforgivable than if you were truly as hopeless as you pretend."

He frowned, shaking his head.

"And yet I know, if I let you go now, I will be shutting the door on someone who, even in this state, shows a tremendous amount of potential." He murmured. "I know, Shunsui, that you've put about among your classmates that your brother bought your way into this Academy. That you rank in the top tier of classes thanks to Kyouraku influence. But _we_ both know that that's not the case, don't we? _We_ both know that, of all the first year students, it was _you_ who scored the highest mark on the entry tests. Of all of the First Year, _your_ reiatsu is the most naturally attuned to the skills of a Shinigami. If any student deserves to be here, it's you."

Shunsui dropped his gaze, suddenly ashamed of his deception, and Genryuusai pursed his lips.

"I understand you used both Kidou and Shunpo in the forest, didn't you?" He murmured, and Shunsui froze, alarm piercing through him at his teacher's perception. At his reaction, Genryuusai nodded.

"Yet you're not even ranked or attending practical classes in either Kidou or Hohou, if I recall correctly." He continued. "Who, pray, taught you those skills?"

"J...Juushirou taught me the spell for _shakka-hou_, so I had a way to defend against the Hollow." Shunsui said reluctantly. "I didn't know what I was doing, I just...well...did it."

"And the Shunpo? You're a first year, and even Kuchiki Ryuu and Shihouin Kai don't know that technique yet. How is it that you do?"

"I...don't know." Shunsui admitted, raising his gaze slowly once more. "I didn't consciously learn it. Just...sometimes, when there's danger...I can. That's all."

"Just when there's danger." Genryuusai rubbed his beard absently, digesting this. "By instinct, you learnt a skill even the most gifted Shinigami work for years to master properly?"

"I didn't mean to." Shunsui protested. "It just happened - I wasn't _trying_ to use Shunpo, and I didn't know really till tonight that that's what it was. It wasn't on purpose. I...I just did."

"And yet, with all that talent, you seem set on throwing it away." Genryuusai's tones sounded momentarily pained. "Do you _want_ to be a failure in life, is that it? Have you so given up on being anything else, that nothing I do or say is going to reach you?"

Shunsui bit his lip, somehow feeling the teacher's words strike right through to his core. Genryuusai had not raised his voice even a little bit, yet even so there was something in the man's disappointed tones that cut through him even more deeply than his Uncle's whip ever had.

"I don't want to be a killer." He said at length, meeting the teacher's gaze with an honest one of his own. "That's all. And if I stay here...if I learn how to use a sword...that's what I'll be doing. Isn't it? Learning how to kill."

"I wouldn't say that." Genryuusai looked startled at this. "Combat skills are important, true enough, but I'm not teaching you to slay your fellow students. Quite the opposite - I want you to learn the value of working together, not striving for just your own goals. The purpose of the training is to learn how to deal with the Hollow problem, after all."

"But that's just it." Shunsui whispered, pain in his dark eyes as he gazed at his teacher earnestly. "Hollows...I don't want to kill them either."

"Why not?" Genryuusai stared at him.

"Because they're not just monsters, after all." Shunsui swallowed hard, tears on his lashes as his exhaustion dragged out the deepest, darkest feelings from within his heart. "They're like _us_. Aren't they? They're souls...souls who've been through something horrific. They're suffering. In pain. And you want us to kill them as though they were nothing. I can't do that! I can't be that person! That's why I hate the Gotei! I don't want to learn to be a killer!"

Genryuusai's eyes opened wide at this, and for a moment there was silence, as Shunsui fought against the tears that swirled within him. Then he sighed.

"Is that it, after all?" He asked gently, and Shunsui nodded slowly.

"I know what Noble swords can do." He said brokenly. "When I was six years old. I saw my Uncle challenge my father, and take him down. My Father's aura was full of despair, the day that he died, like he felt trapped and hopeless and destroyed by the world he'd been forced into. And when we were out there...when that Hollow attacked I...I felt it again. The Hollow...the Hollow had that despair, too. Deep within it...it was crying out in pain."

He closed his eyes briefly, as the tears began to spill down his cheeks.

"Father made a lot of mistakes, but he didn't want to kill." He murmured. "That's why he abandoned his position in the Gotei and let his sword gather dust. And that's why my Uncle killed him - because my Father didn't want to kill anyone else. But I'm not like my Uncle, Sensei. I'm like my Father. I don't want to kill anyone, either."

He sighed, opening his eyes again.

"That's why I told people I didn't pass the entrance exam." He said hopelessly. "Because if folk think I'm smart enough, they'll force me into doing things I don't want to do. And even if the Hollows do want to hurt us - I can't kill them. I can't kill something when it's like that - it's not in me to do."

Genryuusai sighed, resting his hands gently on Shunsui's shoulders.

"You know, it's rare for someone as inexperienced as you to be able to feel so many things emanating from a Hollow's aura." He said softly. "Even more so considering how often you've cut your classes this term. It makes me wonder, Shunsui, what you really are capable of if you apply your everything to the matter at hand. Because your perception and your skill is already far higher than that of many I've trained in the past - even, dare I say, greater than some of those I number among the fledgling squads of the revised Gotei. With a gift like that, there's absolutely no doubt about where you should be. Here, at the Academy, learning to make the most of what you can do."

"But..."

"It's painful, I know, the first time you pick apart those sensations and realise that a Hollow is more than just a monster out for your soul." Genryuusai continued softly. "And it's difficult, sometimes, knowing that in order to save an innocent soul, you might have to challenge a tortured one. Your Father would say the same things, after all. He disliked it more than anyone else I ever worked with. Using his blade to cause more suffering to those who had already suffered deeply enough."

Shunsui swallowed, reaching up to brush away his tears.

"In the end, it destroyed your Father, knowing those things." Genryuusai reflected. "And you are, without a doubt, your Father's son. His perception and understanding are inside of you, and I know all too well that you're reaching the same crossroads he reached, too, when he decided the course of his life. You didn't just inherit his strengths, Shunsui, but also his weakness. His inability to deal with the pain of his duty...that same weakness could also take over you, if you allow it to."

"Not if I don't ever have to wield a sword." Shunsui shook his head. "So I'm sorry, Sensei, but I really don't intend on learning. I never have done. From the moment I saw my Father cut down, I knew that. I wasn't going to bear a sword or learn to kill. So you'd do better to send me home, if that's the case. I'm only going to disappoint you more, if you keep me here like this."

Genryuusai shook his head slowly.

"When your father was a part of the Gotei, things were different." He said softly. "In order to save the innocent souls, there was little choice except to destroy the attacking Hollows and condemn them to oblivion. We didn't know, clearly, a way of doing anything else. And your Father wasn't the first man to be driven from his purpose by the burden this knowledge brought."

He smiled slightly.

"But for almost as long as there's been a Gotei, there've been people working on a way to change that." He added. "To have the perception to differentiate a Hollow's spirit from a demon is a gift few souls ever have - even those who reach Shinigami level. Yet for the past several generations, members of the Gotei have striven to find ways to change the way in which we deal with these souls. Instead of destroying them, as our ancestors often did, more and more Shinigami have come to want to help them."

He spread his hands.

"One of the reasons for my setting up this Academy was to try and ensure that that method became widespread." He added. "Little by little, we've come to understand which parts of the Hollow need to be severed in order to purify them, as opposed to destroying them. Seven years ago, the Gotei representative from the Urahara clan perfected a method by which, using his _zanpakutou_, he successfully severed the Hollow's darkness from the soul it clung to, sending the soul to Rukongai, and dispersing the darkness completely."

"But...?" Shunsui's eyes widened, and Genryuusai nodded.

"In time, all the students of the Academy will learn how to do the same with the spirit power locked inside their blades." He said softly. "We no longer kill Hollows, Shunsui. We set them free."

Shunsui stared at him, and Genryuusai smiled.

"Well?" He asked gently. "Is that the kind of Shinigami you'd prefer to learn to be? One who saves souls, rather than leaving them to suffer? Over the past few generations, there have been numerous bloody conflicts in the Real World. Many lives have been lost in violent circumstances, and the number of Hollows has reached such a level that they're even able to break through into Soul Society and threaten us right at our core. To return the balance, we need to have as many people as we can to purify these Hollows and return them to their original spirit state. And with the potential you have inside of you, you're one of those who could truly make a difference. Your instinct to shield Ukitake was, after all, a sign of your true impulse to protect, not to run away. And that was your Father's way, as well. It's entirely in your hands from hereon in - whether or not you can utilise the potential we both know you have."

Shunsui took a deep breath into his lungs, as the last of his strength gave out and he sank to his knees, closing his eyes as he fought against the giddy waves that crashed across his senses. Relief mingled with something he could not define intoxicated his mind, and he felt his teacher's hand on his shoulder.

"I should punish you, and severely, for what you've done." He heard Genryuusai say. "You broke bounds, put a classmate at risk, and almost got killed by a Hollow. Plus, there is more I want to know about this Megumi girl and why her life was important enough for you to try and save. There will be consequences, Shunsui. Don't think there won't be. Whipping you is pointless...but I'll be sure to find plenty of other jobs for you to do in penance for your disobedient behaviour. From tomorrow morning, you can report at dawn to the Kitchens and submit yourself to whatever odd-jobs you're given until breakfast ends - do you understand?"

"The Kitchens?" Shunsui's eyes snapped open, then, "Yes, Sensei. I understand. Though I'm not a very good cook...In fact, I don't think I even know how to."

"Then I'm sure there will be plenty of cleaning and carrying for you to do." Genryuusai said frankly. "You are lazy, so I'm punishing that laziness with work."

Shunsui frowned, but inwardly he knew the judgment was fair.

"Yes, Sensei."

"And as for your Kidou and Shunpo...Kidou, certainly, I will make it known to Kazoe that you're ready to undertake the practical class with your comrades. It seems wisest, before you cause an injury with your lack of training, and there's no reason why you shouldn't begin what your fellows are already learning." Genryuusai continued. "Regarding your Shunpo..."

"I won't use it, Sensei, if you don't want me to." Shunsui said quickly, suddenly not wanting Aitori to know that he'd achieved that particular skill on his own. "I don't want anyone to think I'm trying to be smarter than anyone else and it'll be awkward, if they think I've learnt something the rest of them haven't."

"Very well." Genryuusai nodded. "But in return, I expect to see you giving proper effort in all your classes. The summer exams will be the indication of that - knowing what you're capable of."

"Yes Sensei."

"Then arrangements will be made." Genryuusai nodded. "However...for tonight..."

He paused, then Shunsui heard him sigh.

"This is your last chance, Kyouraku Shunsui." He said softly. "No matter how talented you are, you will not get another one. Understood?"

Shunsui slowly nodded his head.

"Y...Yes, Sensei."

"Then you may go to your dorm." Genryuusai indicated the door. "Providing you can make it that far on your own."

"Yes, sir, I think so." Shunsui felt the relief flood through him again at this. "But...please Sensei, about Juushirou..."

"You are not to go to the Healing Bay tonight." Genryuusai shook his head. "You are tired, not hurt, and I wish to speak to him alone. Your concern is to abide by the rules...I will tell you when you may see your classmate. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Shunsui pulled himself unsteadily to his feet, bowing towards his Headmaster. "I understand, and...and I'll do what you say."

"Time will tell, I suppose, whether or not you will." Genryuusai muttered. "But at least I know time can make a good Shinigami."

* * *

In the hallways, unnoticed by the busy senior students, a lone shadow slipped from hall to hall, his mind racing as he took in everything he'd heard. It had been completely by chance that Kai had seen Yunosuke and his companion returning to the school, for he had been returning from his trip to the bath house, and his natural curiosity had made him pause as he had registered the bundle the two students were carrying. He had picked up quickly the truth of his classmates' unexpected absence from the school grounds, and though he had put it down to simply Kyouraku's innate foolishness, he had realised that something else was amiss when he had read the odd prickles and hesitations in the two seniors' reiatsu.

They had brought the object, wrapped in blankets as it was to the Healing Bay, and Kai had had his second shock, registering the head of the Unohana Clan's white _haori_ flapping around her slender body as she gave quiet, measured instructions. After a short conversation, the two senior students had separated, and Yunosuke had hared off in the direction of the headmaster's study, whilst Hikifune Haru, the sturdier of the two had lifted their burden carefully into a disused chamber.

"We found her in the forest." Kai had heard Haru saying, and his blood had run cold as he had put the pieces together. "Her throat had been slit, Retsu-dono, but even so there was very little blood. That's all we know. It may have nothing to do with the missing boys - but their reiatsu and the Hollow's was nearby. I wonder if they stumbled into something they shouldn't."

"Then leave this matter to me, and return to your companions." Retsu had replied, in her low, sweet tones. "Thank you for your hard work - I'll no doubt discuss the matter with Genryuusai-sama later. It's nothing for you to worry about any more - you've done the right thing and now you are dismissed."

"Yes, Retsu-dono." Haru had bowed his head, then withdrawn, and Kai had pushed himself even further into his hideyhole, suppressing his reiatsu as hard as he could go as he watched the illustrious Gotei member hesitate, putting a gentle finger to the blanketed object, then letting out a little sigh.

"Such things so close to a school like this." She murmured. "Rest in peace, young one."

With that she had gone, closing the door behind her, and though she had paused for a moment, glancing vaguely in Kai's direction, she had not stopped long, heading back to the Healing Bay and the living patients who were claiming her attention within.

For a good few minutes, Kai had not moved, afraid that she was coming back. However, as the time ticked past, he realised that if he didn't move quickly, it wouldn't be Retsu but Genryuusai himself who would more likely dog his movements, and he frowned, steeling himself as he darted across the corridor, pushing back the unlocked wood divide and slipping into the dark room beyond.

It was too much of a risk to activate the Kidou Lamps, but Kai had not trained in stealth all his life for nothing, and he moved cautiously around the room, drawing close to the table in the centre where the boys' strange burden had been put down. There was enough moonlight glinting in from the window to give him a dim view of what they had found, and as he took a proper look, he felt his heart sink into his boots.

"Megumi." He murmured, as Seimaru's words raced through his brain. "So he...did _he_ do this?"

He took a deep breath, fighting the urge to panic as he examined the body more closely, and realised that - clumsy though it was - the throat slash that had been fatal was distinctive enough to have been done by the Shihouin Clan.

"You idiot." He muttered fiercely. "Using our techniques in such a casual, rough way in order to dispose of your loose ends! No Shihouin would claim such sloppy, casual work - no Shihouin would have allowed the body to be so easily found! And in the forest...where Kyouraku and Ukitake were? Did _they_ see you? Did they see..._this_? You total and utter fool, Seimaru! You worry about me letting the side down, and now, you do something so casual as this! Are you trying to implicate my Clan? Is that your intention...to show us how under your thumb we are in this whole thing? Or is this just your sick, twisted sense of humour having its way with me once more?"

He clenched and unclenched his fists, taking a step back from the body as he forced himself to calm down.

_For Midori, I have to be rational. Because of Midori, I can't lose my cool. If Aitori doesn't know yet, let him find out and let him report it - I'll have nothing to do with this. If Seimaru thinks he'll incriminate a Shihouin for this crime, then I'll be as far away from it as possible._

He eyed the corpse critically, making out what he could in the dull gloom.

_She died not long ago. _

Relief flooded him at this realisation.

_She must've died during this afternoon sometime, when I was here and people could vouch for me. Aitori too, since a group of us were helping him tidy his classroom and sort through old papers for rubbish. There's no reason to question where we were, at the very..._

He froze, his eyes opening wide as a sudden thought occured to him.

_Could Aitori have arranged to tidy his classroom on this particular day, at that particular time, because he knew that Seimaru was about to get rid of the girl? Did he do it, then, so that he, Onoe and I had alibis and were witnessed by seven or eight other students as well as by each other? He's sly and crafty, and I wouldn't put it past him - to cast such a smokescreen as that._

_Seimaru makes it look like Shihouin, the Shihouin are accounted for. So her death is a mystery, and fades into the background. _

Kai sighed, rubbing his temples as he felt the dull throbbing beginning at the base of his skull.

_For now, I won't give anyone any reason to think I know the girl or anything about this. I'll go to the dorm and to bed, and I won't say a thing to anyone. If Aitori manipulated me this afternoon, so be it. At least his doing so puts me in the clear. And if Megumi's dead, she can't tell anyone that I knew her. Or that any of us did. Or what she was being paid to do here. So, in the end, nothing has changed._

_Even if there's one more corpse...no, nothing has changed._

Repeating this a few times as if to fully convince himself, Kai left the empty room, replacing the sliding door and heading quickly across campus to the dorms.

_But dear God, Seimaru - I seriously hope you know what you're doing, after all._


	13. Fallout

**Chapter Twelve: Fallout**

"Please excuse me, Minabe-sensei. I would like to speak to Class One while they are all assembled."

It was the next morning, and the First Years, minus the absent Juushirou had assembled as usual in the gymnasium, a low buzz of chatter running around the room as they did so. Even in the short space of time, rumours were apparently running rife, and at the sudden appearance of the Headmaster, several faces went pale and furtive, wondering if they were about to be scolded for their gossiping.

Across the chamber, Shunsui raised his gaze to the old man's, consternation in his dark brown eyes as he read the resolution that he saw there.

_So the old guy's not wasting any time, then, about dealing with this. Well, of course he isn't. He wants answers as much as anyone else. I just wonder...where those answers are going to lead._

He caught Hirata's glance at this moment, and the younger boy stiffened, turning his head pointedly away.

Shunsui was surprised by how much the deliberate shunning upset him.

_I guess I need to talk to you about that, too, Juu-kun - when I get a chance. Your pet charge has taken it pretty personally, after all, and I'm half afraid I might wind up with a knife through me when I sleep at this rate. Quiet and meek he may be, but he is an Endou, after all._

"Class One, stand." Minabe looked annoyed, but she did not make any demur, gesturing her huge fist in the Head's direction. "And go with Genryuusai-sensei. When you're finished, return here. Since you have been summoned like this, you're excused for the time being - but don't dally when the Headmaster has finished speaking with you."

Slowly and hesitantly, Class One got to their feet, exchanging glances as they did so.

"This has something to do with you, Shunsui, doesn't it?" As they filed outside and across the grassy surrounds to the building beyond, Shunsui heard Sora's hiss at his right elbow, and he sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Now why would you think that? Sora-chan, I'm hurt."

"You don't fool me." Sora's eyes narrowed. "You're bothered too. For the first time since I've known you, you're on edge. Your eyes are all dark and murky, not like they usually are at all. And when Naoko tripped and fell headlong into the gym this morning, you didn't bat an eyelid, let alone jump in with some silly flirtatious remark to help her to her feet. Whatever happened to you and Juushirou in the forest, it was a big deal, wasn't it? And this is part of the same deal. Isn't it?"

"Wait and I'm sure Yama-jii will tell you himself." Shunsui responded simply. "Now shut up, before you get us into more trouble."

"Like you need help with that." Sora snorted, but obediently fell silent, and the eight students trailed along in near silence along the narrow hallways towards the Healing Bay.

"We're not going to his office?" Enishi murmured, and Ryuu shrugged.

"It looks that way." He responded. "Perhaps we're going to see Ukitake - he's the only member of Class One not here."

"Last I heard, Ukitake-kun was sleeping and wasn't to be disturbed on pain of horrible punishment." Naoko butted into the conversation. "The head of my Clan is here, you see, and I heard as much from Kazoe-sensei. Mitsuki was fretting about it - so we went to ask."

"Mitsuki was?" Shunsui turned, eying the retiring girl with a look of surprise, and Mitsuki blushed.

"There was such a big flare in the forest." She murmured. "And Ukitake-kun isn't well, so I thought..."

"What do you mean, he isn't well?" Enishi demanded, only just remembering to keep his voice down. "He might've been sick before, and he coughs from time to time - but it's hardly like he's at death's door."

Shunsui frowned, his eyes darkening as he remembered the fits of choking and blood in the dark cave.

"No. Mitsuki's right." He murmured. "It's more than that, Houjou. He told me himself - that he was born with some kind of lung disease. And when he pushes himself...it flares up."

"Ukitake-kun." Hirata bit his lip, sending Shunsui a reproachful look, and Shunsui sighed, holding up his hands in mock-surrender.

"I know. You hate me. You're not speaking to me. You think it's all my fault." He said heavily. "And it's fine, Hirata-kun. I don't blame you on any level. It's entirely my fault, after all."

"Enough of your idle chatter, if you please." Genryuusai stopped abruptly ahead, holding up his hand for silence. "And listen to me carefully. Kyouraku Shunsui?"

"Yes, Sensei?" Shunsui jumped, staring at the old man in consternation, and Genryuusai frowned.

"Tell me, if you please, which student brought you the message that precipitated last night's events?" He asked quietly, and Shunsui frowned, shaking his head.

"I don't remember, Sensei."

"I told you yesterday how I feel about deceit." Genryuusai's tone was uncompromising. "Shall we try again?"

"It was Iwai Kenji, Sensei." Sora put in, before Shunsui could respond. "He came to the common room to get Shunsui - and that was the last we saw of him for the rest of last evening. Any of us. Except, well, Juushirou of course."

"_Sora?!_" Shunsui stared at her, and Sora glared back.

"Don't dig yourself a deeper grave, you idiot!" She snapped. "It's not like Iwai-kun was involved in anything, right? Sensei's not going to punish someone for bringing a message. It's not his fault you're a moron, after all!"

"Iwai Kenji." Genryuusai pursed his lips. "I see. Just Iwai?"

"Kira Hideharu met with her too." Shunsui said reluctantly. "But...they really did nothing other than tell me, Sensei. You aren't...Sora's right, isn't she? You won't punish them for that?"

"I have no intention of punishing those who are not guilty." Genryuusai shook his head. "I simply wanted to know who had brought the message."

His gaze drifted across the gathered students, then,

"Are any of your classmates here present ignorant of the events that occurred?" He asked.

"Shikibu-san and Edogawa-san weren't in the common room at the time." Shunsui said softly. "Nor was Shihouin-kun. And Sora only knew that I'd had a visitor. Nothing more than that."

"In which case, Shikibu and Edogawa, you are dismissed back to your Kenjitsu class." Genryuusai said simply, flicking his fingers in their direction. "Shihouin, you too. If one of you would tell Iwai and Kira that I'd like to speak to them when class is over, please. You may tell them they're not in trouble - but it is a matter of some importance and won't wait till after school hours."

"Yes, sir." Exchanging troubled looks, Naoko and Mitsuki answered as one person, disappearing off down the halls before the old man could change his mind. Kai hesitated for a moment, then followed suit, though Shunsui had seen the consternation in the depths of his golden eyes.

"Shiba, you knew only that Kyouraku had had a visitor? You did not know he had left campus?"

"No, Sensei." Sora sent Shunsui another dark look. "He doesn't tell me anything, even though we're almost kin."

"Then you too may go. I'm sorry for interrupting your studies."

"Yes, sir." Sora bowed, then hared off after her friends, and Genryuusai's gaze flickered round in turn to the students he had left.

"Kyouraku, Endou, Kuchiki, Houjou. Yes, just who I expected to see. Follow me, if you please. I have something important to ask you...all of you."

He slid back a side door, brushing his palm against the Kidou lamp controls and, as the room was bathed with light, he gestured for the four apprehensive boys to follow him inside.

"Ukitake, of course, is the fifth, but at present he is not in a fit state to get up." He continued. "However, I want to know definitively whether any of you are familiar with this woman."

"Woman?" Enishi gazed around the room, confusion in his dark eyes. "What woman, Sensei? I don't..."

Before he could finish his statement, however, Hirata let out an exclamation of dismay, his fingers clawing at Enishi's sleeve as he gestured his free hand towards the table in the centre of the room. His face went a sickly shade of green, and he stared at the teacher in horror.

"Sensei! What...what _happened_ to her?!"

"Am I to assume that all four of you are acquainted with this unfortunate young woman?" Genryuusai's calm did not waver for even one moment, despite the fact he had just led his students into a makeshift mortuary, and Shunsui frowned, realising that his first assumptions had been correct. This was a serious matter - and it involved Clan.

There was silence, then Ryuu stepped forward.

"Acquainted is a strong term, Sensei." He said slowly. "I have encountered her on one occasion before, in the local town. But I would not call her someone I knew. She was simply a girl we met in the street. That is all."

"I see." Genryuusai's gaze flitted to Enishi. "Enishi? What about you?"

"Megumi." Enishi's own features had paled as the truth had finally sunk in. "I remember her, Sensei. I met her a couple of times in the town, like Ryuu said. Not intentionally - I didn't _go_ to meet her or anything! But she was there. Twice, I think, I met her."

"Endou?"

"What H...Houjou-kun said." Hirata swallowed hard. "A couple of times. But not on purpose."

"Then we come back to you, Kyouraku." Genryuusai's gaze fixed in on Shunsui once more. "Since you seem to have the strongest connection to this girl, and also to have been the first person to find her body last night - by your own admission."

"_Kyouraku?_" Enishi's eyes almost fell out of his head, and Shunsui nodded slowly.

"Megumi was the friend I went to try and help." He said softly. "But I was too late. She was dead when I got there...her throat slit, like you see her now."

"Slit by a_ Clan_ blade, it seems." Ryuu said astutely, peering at the body as if it were no more than an animal carcass ready to be gutted for cooking. "I understand why you have called us here, Sensei. If this woman was murdered by a Clansman, then doubtless a serious offence has occurred."

His eyes narrowed maliciously.

"It looks much like the swipe of a _Shihouin _blade to me."

"Thank you, Kuchiki. Those things I can ascertain for myself." Genryuusai said frankly, a warning note in his tones, and even the proud Ryuu subsided. "I have already surmised that the manner of death bears a resemblance to a Clan assassination. I have already made enquiries, however - and all of the Shihouin known to be currently in this area are accounted for for the whole of yesterday."

"Even Kai?" Ryuu looked startled, and Genryuusai sighed.

"This petty rivalry must end." He said frankly. "And I am not in the habit of suspecting my students of murder. Besides, the answer to your question is yes. As it happens, Kai's whereabouts were also accounted for for the entirety of yesterday, with several independent witnesses, including a kinsman of your own. No, whatever this crime is, it isn't what it appears to be. Which is why I hope to learn more about the girl. This crime is, after all, District One's jurisdiction. And it obviously has ties to my pupils - so I want to get to the bottom of those here and now."

His gaze flitted back to Kyouraku.

"This girl is indeed your acquaintance more than the others?"

"Yes, Sensei." Shunsui gave it up as a bad job. "I met her in the local town, and she served me sake. I paid her in good coin and I guess she trusted me because I didn't break my promises - when I said I'd pay her, I did. And I never tried to do anything bad to her, either."

"And so she looked to you for help? Via this mysterious, disappeared friend of hers?"

"Yes, sir." Shunsui bit his lip hard enough to taste blood on his tongue. "Kyouko said that she and Megumi had been surprised, and Megumi'd been taken hostage by men who were looking for her. Kyouko said she'd been paid for something extra lately and that there'd been some kind of argument. But I don't know what it was. Kyouko didn't, either, and Megumi never said anything to me about it at all. So that's really all I know, Sensei. I went out of bounds last night to try and save Megumi's life and I failed and caused a whole lot more trouble for a whole lot more people into the bargain. But I can't tell you any more than I have. That's all there is."

And if I was to speak to Ukitake?"

"He knows even less than me, really." Shunsui shook his head. "He only knows Megumi as well as Houjou or Hirata do. She was my acquaintance and they knew her through me. Not through any other means."

Genryuusai sighed.

"Perhaps you children will learn, now, why there are curfew rules surrounding this establishment." He murmured. "Very well. You are dismissed. Return directly to your class, and apologise to Minabe-sensei for how long I've kept you. And this matter is to be kept to your own discretion. I have heard enough buzzing rumours this morning - I do not wish to hear more lurid ones this afternoon. You understand?"

"Yes, Sensei." As one, the boys responded, and as they trooped back towards the gymnasium, Enishi let out a heavy sigh.

"I can't believe she was murdered." He murmured. "A pretty young girl like that. Who'd kill someone like her?"

"Someone who owed her money and didn't feel like paying?" Shunsui shrugged. "There are a lot of people who see people like Megumi as worthless and disposable commodities, Houjou. That's why I wanted to save her. Because I knew no one else would."

"It was horrible." Hirata shivered. "She was all pale and cold and...and..."

"Are you seriously telling me that, as an Endou, you've never seen death before?" Ryuu shot him an incredulous look. "We are here to learn to fight, not to become skilled in calligraphy and flower arrangement! What use will you be against Hollows if you cannot stomach one common girl's corpse?"

Hirata stiffened.

"I don't have to like it, no matter whether I've seen it or not." He defended himself. "Besides, Megumi wasn't someone who'd hurt anyone. She didn't deserve...it was _evil_."

"Too true." Shunsui said grimly. "If I'd only been a little quicker - maybe then there'd have been a point to last night's disaster. But she must've been killed within a short time before me getting to her. And that's what bugs me most of all. I was that close - but I was still too late."

"You are odd sometimes, Kyouraku." Ryuu observed pensively. "I believe you care more for that girl's death than you do about any of the values this place is here to uphold."

"Something along those lines." Shunsui nodded. "Especially if I find out it was Clan who killed her."

"It looked like a Shihouin blade all right. Kuchiki was right about that." Enishi remarked.

"But if all of the Shihouin are accounted for, that means either someone crept over the border and did it illicitly, or otherwise it's an attempt at framing." Ryuu reflected. Shunsui nodded.

"I'm about at that point myself." He admitted. "But that's still wide open."

"But if Sensei is involved, it will be sorted out. Won't it?" Hirata murmured, and Shunsui gazed at him in surprise.

"I thought you weren't speaking to me, kid."

"I'm not _kid_. Not from _you_." Hirata said stiffly. "And I'm not. Not really. 'Cept I think that, if you tried to save someone's life, at least maybe I'm less cross with you than I was. Though I'm still angry that you got Ukitake-kun hurt. We can't even see him, yet, which means he must've been pretty bad."

"Yeah...he kind of was." Shunsui's expression became shadowed. "I'm sorry, Hirata. I didn't mean it to end up that way. He saved my life, and I endangered his. Believe me, you can't be as cross with me as I am with myself over that."

He offered the boy a casual smile, but it did not fully reach his eyes.

"Whether you believe me or not, I'm fond of Juushirou too." He added. "And I do have a conscience - even if it does take a lot to wake it up."

"He'll be all right though, won't he?" Enishi asked, and Shunsui nodded.

"I guess so. Now he's here." He agreed. "You heard Naoko, didn't you? The head of her clan is here. That's the head of the Unohana - the Healing Order. Yama-jii said the same to me yesterday, too - and I saw her _haori_ for myself. I guess she must've been called because of Juushirou...so in that case, there's no doubting he'll recover."

"Kyouraku is correct." Ryuu nodded. "Unohana Retsu is known for her skills, after all - she is said to be the most gifted healer in generations of the Unohana Clan - Ukitake is in the safest hands."

"But to call someone like that, it must've been a bad injury to begin with." Enishi reflected absently. "What did happen out there last night, Kyouraku? What did you do to the poor guy?"

"Nothing, exactly." Shunsui replied evenly. "He was using what spells he knew to drive back the Hollow so we could escape. He pushed himself too far, in the end."

"We shouldn't speak about this in front of others." As they reached the gymnasium once more, Ryuu put his hand on the door, turning to face them. "As Sensei said, we do not want to elicit more rumours. Between ourselves is one thing - but from now we should stop talking like this."

"Kuchiki's right. Let's drop it." Enishi agreed. "We've missed enough of class as it is, and Minabe won't let us off the hook if we slack for the rest of it."

He offered his companions a rueful grin, leaning across his companion to slide back the door.

"For now, lets just focus on Kenjitsu and leave everything else to Genryuusai-sensei."

* * *

"And that's enough for today's class."

Aitori set down his books on the edge of his desk, turning to face the gathered eight students with a faint, slightly derisive smile. "For my next class, you can go over the theories we've studied today and then, tomorrow afternoon I trust we'll start once more exploring the physical possibilities of shifting through light."

It was that same afternoon, and the students had returned to as normal a routine as they could in light of the morning's revelations, each one keeping strongly in mind Genryuusai's words about discretion. From his corner at the back of the room, Kai could clearly see that whatever the Headmaster had said to them, it had had a lasting effect, for there was tension in each boy's aura - but though he had heard Sora eagerly questioning Shunsui as they had left Kenjitsu class, so far none of them had revealed what had happened between them and the Head.

This had only confirmed Kai's own private suspicions - that Genryuusai had taken them to identify Megumi's body.

He frowned, his brows knitting together in consternation at this thought. He did not know how deep their acquaintance with the girl ran, or how much they knew about her illicit activities. But even one misplaced word could put him and his Clan under suspicion of her murder.

At that thought, he once again cursed Seimaru inwardly for the casual way in which he had handled things.

_So much for the responsibilities of Clan leaders and their heirs. An infant could have done a better job covering his tracks than that._

"Kyouraku, I've been informed by Genryuusai-sensei that even though you haven't cleared my assessment, you are to attend Practical Hohou classes from hereon in." Aitori was speaking again, and Kai wrested his attention back to the matter at hand, surprise flooding through him as he wondered why the Headmaster had so easily overridden the rules he himself had set in place. "I have no idea why this is the case, but I will not question a direct order."

He smiled coldly.

"Perhaps, given your love of breaking rules he feels that you need occupation, and should be pushed harder."

"Maybe my brother thinks so, and has asked Genryuusai-sensei to intervene on my behalf." Shunsui said evenly, offering the teacher a faint smile. "He has some funny ideas of what he thinks I should be able to achieve, after all - I suspect he wouldn't like me being kept behind."

"You should do more to deserve Tokutarou-dono's faith in you, in that case." Aitori said evenly. "I will expect you to arrive promptly, however, and your having missed four weeks so far will not be considered an adequate excuse for you lagging behind your companions. Even if the instruction _has_ come from the Head of the Kyouraku-ke, I do not have time to nanny dullards."

"Yes, Sensei." Shunsui bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement, and a chill touched Kai's spine as he read the expression in the boy's eyes.

_Tokutarou-dono had nothing to do with this, I'd stake my honour on it. He's lying, which means he's covering something up. Did he give Genryuusai-sensei information? Did he trade that information in order to move on in some way? It must be that. Why else would a lazy fool like Kyouraku suddenly get special favours, when he of all students has been so inattentive so far?  
_  
He bit his lip. There had been something different to Shunsui's aura since last night, but he could not put his finger on what it was. Even so, though, he knew it wasn't a feeling he liked.

_Did he know something, after all? Did that girl tell __**him**__ her secrets?_

Aitori cast Kai a brief glance, then he paced across the class, pausing in front of Shunsui's desk and resting his hand down casually on the wood.

"You may pass a message to your District-born friend, also." He murmured, a slight sneer curling at the edge of his lips. "Ill health will not be considered a reason for gaps in preparation when it comes to the end of semester exams."

"Juushirou's really sick, though, Sensei!" Sora objected, the words slipping out before she could stop them, and Aitori's gaze narrowed.

"If he cannot cope with facing up against just one meagre Hollow, what use is it him being a student in this class?" He asked coolly. "If he wishes to play Noble games, he must improve his stamina."

He gestured towards the door.

"You are dismissed." He added. "Kai, I wish you to stay behind - the rest of you may go."

Kai, who had got to his feet with his fellows paused, a hesitant glance crossing his features as he gazed at the teacher in surprise. At his faltering, Aitori frowned, shaking his head slowly.

"Your assignment on how Shinigami use reiatsu to pierce the speed of light was not up to the standard I expect from you." He said coldly. "And I would rather not discuss that in front of your fellows."

Kai's expression darkened further, but he made no demur, merely watching as his classmates vacated the classroom one at a time. When the door had slid shut behind the last, Hirata, he cast his companion a questioning look.

"Well?" He murmured accusingly. "You know that if you continue to call on me so often, Aitori, people will be suspicious?"

Aitori frowned, pursing his lips in annoyance. Without a word he strode across the classroom, bringing his hand down hard across Kai's cheek. Despite himself the boy stumbled back, only just steadying his balance as he fingered his bruised face in surprise and dismay.

"You may be the blood nephew of the Clan Leader, Kai, but by God you _will_ address me with the respect owing an elder Clansman." Aitori's voice shook with anger. "Else I will beat it into you, and then people will indeed talk."

"I'm sorry." Kai touched his cheek gingerly once more, then bowed his head. "It's just...I...with all that's happened..."

He trailed off, and Aitori's lips thinned.

"Yes." He murmured. "But you needn't worry on that account. It was all taken care of. All of it has gone exactly according to plan."

"You knew, Sensei, didn't you?" Kai asked apprehensively. "That Seimaru-dono was planning...and that's why..."

"Why I seconded you to help me out? Yes, of course." Aitori smiled, a small, unpleasant smile. "And I helped provide him with a Shihouin blade, also. It was entirely his idea to work it that way - that we would, after all, be perfectly above suspicion. And _his_ men could do the deed without any fear of it being traced back to the Endou-ke."

"I can't believe you just let him cast suspicion on our Clan like that." Kai muttered, and Aitori frowned.

"The world is changing." He said softly. "You must see that too, Kai. Young and foolish as you are, you must know that things are shifting in a particular direction. The Shihouin are not the force to be reckoned with that they once were. A trio of weak leaders before your Uncle took command, the in-fighting that preceded that event...not to mention the most recent decisions made by the Noble Council of Elders. The Shihouin do not have the same spiritual potential as the Kuchiki, the Shiba or the Yamamoto in this current environment. They are no longer in a position to be able to hold firm alone."

"So we're to be shored up by Endou schemes and Endou blood? Is that it?" Kai demanded. "I'm sorry, Sensei, but I don't like that one bit! I'm Shihouin. That's all I am. I don't want any part in anything else."

"Things are probably already too far progressed to be changed too considerably." Aitori mused, leaning up against the wall and folding his arms across his chest. "The Endou, too, have their weaknesses. We are, if you like, mutually supportive. By marrying your sister to Seimaru-dono, we're forging an alliance no different from Kyouraku Matsuhara's alliance with the Shiba, to name but one. The Kyouraku have been a weak Clan too, you know, in recent generations. But their newest leader has Shiba blood as well as Kyouraku blood and even in a precious few years he has taken hold of his family and resurrected their good name. In time, we will no doubt do the same."

"By allowing the Endou to tell us what to do?"

"No, you foolish boy." Aitori shook his head impatiently. "All Noble alliances have catches - and you should understand how much the Shihouin live in the shadows. We pursue this alliance and this pretence so long as it can strengthen the cracks that haven't quite been smoothed over. Once Midori is married to Seimaru-dono, then a new game begins - any heir she births will be half Shihouin and educated as such, after all. If Seimaru-dono objects to it, he'll find he has a Clan of assassins on his hands - no, Kai, you are wrong to think that we'll let ourselves be so easily taken into the Endou-ke's dark snare."

"Then what are we doing, then, letting him pass off the murder of a town girl onto one of our people?" Kai demanded. "I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but I don't understand it. Megumi's body was brought here and Unohana-sama, of all people, has examined it. Genryuusai-sensei is suspicious about it and what's worse, more than one of my classmates were acquainted with her. If even one tiny thread leads back here..."

"Yes. That's why I called you back today." Aitori nodded, his eyes becoming ice cold as he gazed down at his young companion. "You've been preoccupied, and it won't do. You have no connection to Megumi, nor anything she was involved in in town. You met her maybe once, but now she's dead there's noone to testify to that fact. You have no reason to be worried about anything - nobody suspects you or I in anything. But you will give us away if you continue in this vein. And I'm warning you. This comes direct from your Uncle's mouth - if you compromise this operation even one bit, I am to remove you from the equation permanently."

Kai froze, staring at his companion in horror, and Aitori smiled that unpleasant smile again.

"That's not my goal." He added. "I dislike slaying kin, and it would be messy and troublesome to cover up. But my work here is important, too. In the last twenty years the scientists your Father oversees have made great advances in purifying and amending the chemicals that the Council so rashly banned two generations ago. With a little bit more time and effort, they will reach a stage where they should be safe to use. Megumi's death is an inconvenience for me, since she's been a very adept intermediary for this or that since I came here. But with you here to spy on your low-born classmates, and me perfectly able to find other greedy townsfolk to work for good coin, it isn't too much of a tragedy."

"The Endou-ke have something much bigger in mind than just protecting your smuggling racket, Sensei." Kai said darkly, and Aitori nodded.

"Yes." He said frankly. "They've long hated this Academy and they want to see it brought to a firm conclusion. Of course, till now it's been no more than talk on their part - but with the last Council vote swaying our Clan in their direction, at last they have the allies they need to carry out the job properly. You, Tomoyuki and I are unsuspected here, Kai. For now, that's the most important thing. When we're called on, if we are, we'll do our job and we will strike. You understand that, I trust? Your years of training have at least taught you that?"

"Yes, Sensei." Kai bowed his head, resignation in his heart.

"In the meantime, did the wench manage to tell anything to any of your classmates before she died?"

"I don't think so." Kai shook his head.

"Or to her friend, perhaps?" Aitori pursed his lips. "Kyouko, wasn't it? She's disappeared completely - even with my connections, I've been unable to track down her whereabouts. It seems she's left District One entirely."

"I wouldn't blame her. She probably ran scared." Kai shrugged. "But I doubt she knows anything. So far as I understand it, the girl came here and unburdened herself to Kyouraku and Ukitake yesterday - if she'd known anything incriminating, I think we'd have seen repercussions by now."

"I agree." Aitori rubbed his chin pensively. "But it troubles me a little that she so easily escaped my attentions. For now, though, I won't worry about her."

"Sensei..." Kai hesitated, then, "Do you think the Endou-ke can really bring down this Academy? Even with our help, to go up against someone like Genryuusai-sensei..."

"Genryuusai-sensei is not a fool, but he has a weakness and that is that he cares about the students here." Aitori's eyes became like flint. "He won't release his legendary sword and risk hurting them. On the other hand, _I_ have absolutely no feeling for any of the idiots I'm forced to teach, and if some of them die in the process, so be it. We will succeed, in the end, because we have nothing to hold us back. We just have to be patient and bide our time. It wouldn't do to get careless, after all, and give ourselves away too soon."

"Mm." Kai pursed his lips. "And Sensei, what about Ukitake?"

"What about him?"

"Are we to do anything about him? Did Uncle say...?"

"The presence of one like him makes a mockery of this institution, and indicates even more strongly why the Endou feel how they do." Aitori mused. "I dislike him, and would sorely like to remove him just because his being here is an eyesore and an affront to Clan pride. But so far there's been no order directly telling me what should be done about that boy. And so, for now, we do nothing."

"Seimaru-dono said he'd be easy to kill, with his weak body, or to discredit because of Clan prejudice." Kai murmured. "But..."

"But?" Aitori looked surprised. "Why 'but'? Do you think that one District born boy is in any way a match for the might of the Shihouin and the Endou Clans?"

Kai was silent for a moment, debating this carefully. Then, at length, he nodded.

"I don't understand what it is about him." He murmured. "Only people...they seem drawn in by him. Even Kuchiki. Even one like him. And I don't know...but I'm starting to think that it might be tougher to kill him than Seimaru-dono thought."

"Implying what? That we should make a start on doing so now, even before we've had an order?" Aitori was incredulous, and Kai shook his head.

"No." He said uneasily. "But it's not just him. Kyouraku, too, these last twenty-four hours. Since the girl died - there's been something about him that I can't quantify or explain. But the both of them...bother me. And not being able to explain why bothers me, too."

His eyes narrowed.

"I can't help thinking they're going to be problems for us, the more this goes on." He whispered. "Because...I really don't think that Kyouraku's going to easily let Megumi's murder go."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_Unless nobody else has realised it yet, Yama-jii has a slightly sadistic way of teaching his students how to be Shinigami...^_^. I guess corpse identification comes under extra-curricular studies...meh, it's a violent old world out there ^_^._


	14. Alliance

**Chapter Thirteen: Alliance  
**

"I think that's enough for this morning."

As Juushirou drew a hoarse breath into his lungs, his companion got to her feet, offering him a gentle, sympathetic smile as she began to clear away her cloths and equipment. "There's still more to do, but that's about your limit for now, isn't it, Ukitake-kun?"

"Mm. I'm sorry." Juushirou managed, flopping back on his pillows as relief ran through his tense, aching body. It was three days and nights since their adventure into the wilderness, and for the most part his time since that fateful evening had been spent between sleeping, eating and the gruelling rounds of Kidou-based treatment that Retsu had insisted on applying to his battered chest three times each day. He had spoken to none of his classmates during those days, and had only seen the Headmaster for the briefest of moments - long enough to gain the assurance that whatever other trouble he might be in, he was not about to be sent home. Yet at the back of his mind he still worried about what had befallen his partner in crime in the time he had been isolated.

He took another breath into his lungs, steadying his racing heartbeat.

"I tried not to cry out this time - but...it's..."

"It's quite understandable." Retsu paused, setting the clothes aside as she bent to wipe the tears of pain from his dark lashes. "Inside your lungs, your air sacs are rubbed raw from all the coughing and that makes your chest tender to the touch. Your ribs ache because of all the spasms, and so it's a very delicate area of your body right now. Besides, with this being a chronic condition, I suspect your chest is often that way - isn't it? It's hardly surprising that my Kidou would make you react so much."

Her eyes softened, and she shook her head.

"But it's the best thing, if you can bear with it a day or two longer." She murmured. "I really think that this is the quickest way to heal you."

"I will." Juushirou nodded, resolution glittering in his hazel eyes. "When you're treating me, Unohana-sensei, it feels like nothing on earth - like something is clawing away at me from the inside, trying to get out, and it's hard. But I'll stick with it. Because when its over, like now, it feels...a lot better. I've never had my chest feel this clear so soon after a bad attack before. At this rate it won't be long before I can go back into school, will it? And that's what I want. That's why I'm here. So no matter how many times you want to treat me, I'll bear with it. Somehow. As much as I can."

Retsu's smile widened, and she nodded.

"You have pluck. Strength of will indeed." She said approvingly. "But then, I'm not surprised to see it. Genryuusai-sama brought you here, after all. He believes you have a lot of potential...and I understand why."

Juushirou's sallow features flushed red and he shook his head.

"I don't think so." He murmured. "I've caused people a lot of headaches because of this - I know. And though I don't regret helping Shunsui, I wish I'd had better control of myself. I was frightened by the Hollow, and I guess I panicked and lost my grip on my _reiryoku_. And then...I wasn't much use to anyone. I don't like being a burden, Unohana-sensei. To anyone. Especially not to people who've put some faith in me."

"But we all learn from mistakes we make, don't we?" Retsu said lightly. "Don't look so downcast, Ukitake-kun. You've lived through the experience, so you can develop and grow from it, can't you?"

She sat back down at the bedside, adjusting her _haori_ absently as she did so.

"You might think that it's a terrible thing, having a Clan Leader come all this way to treat you." She added. "But the truth is that I'm the only one with the knowledge to do this particular kind of treatment. It's not been needed, you see, in many generations - and it takes a lot of skill and precision to perfect. In my Clan, I'm the only one who has it at a high enough level to use it to treat your disease. So Genryuusai-sama asked me, when term began, if I'd be willing to take on that responsibility as and when it arose. And I told him it would be my pleasure."

"Really?" Despite himself, Juushirou was intrigued. "Is...is my curse that rare, then, these days?"

"Among the Clans, its nonexistant." Retsu agreed evenly. "But even in the Districts, it's not like it once was. You are an unusual child, Ukitake-kun, to have been born with it and yet still have such a strong grip on life despite your body's failings. I would call you lucky, not cursed. You have life. So long as you have that, you can keep on moving forwards. Isn't that so?"

"Yes." Juushirou nodded slowly. "You're right. That is how it is."

He smiled.

"I don't always think of it as a curse. Just that's how my family always refers to it." He said evenly. "I've never met anyone else with it, though. I suppose I thought...kids died from it at birth. I just didn't, because Mother intervened. But...I'm interested, Sensei. You said that the treatment you used on me was designed for this condition? Then it must've been...once, there must've been lots of people who had it, mustn't there? And now there aren't...so...does that mean that the Clans cured it somehow, then?"

"No...not quite a cure." Retsu's expression became grave and she shook her head. "It's not a manner of remedy my Clan either endorse or practice, Ukitake-kun. But they did find a way, nonetheless, to eliminate it from their lines. There hasn't been a case of the White Plague in a Noble Clan for more than six generations - though the high cost of that achievement is not a pleasant thought."

Juushirou bit his lip.

"They...killed people, didn't they?" He murnured, and Retsu sighed, nodding her head.

"Noone really knows where the illness first came from." She murmured sadly. "You are the first case I've seen face to face with this nature of the disease, though from the things I've read, I believe your case resembles several of the cases recorded among the Clans in the distant past. There were many theories, of course - it was at the time Hollows first broke through into Soul Society, so some believed they brought it with them from the Real World. Others believed it was picked up in spiritual waves, from infected humans with high reiatsu by sensitive Shinigami who were careless and let their guard down."

She spread her hands, looking thoughtful.

"Some of the Urahara even suggested it was a natural mutation of the humans' disease." She continued. "That like beasts sometimes transfer their conditions to humans, so humans might to us. Certainly the term 'Tuberculosis' originated in the real world, even though the Urahara-ke coined the Soul Society strain as simply 'Haibyou'. However because it was so unexpected, it was voracious. The speed with which it bleached people from existence led people to adopt the other human name for it - they came to refer to it as 'The White Plague'."

Juushirou fingered his short hair pensively.

"I understand the nickname." He murmured. "It truly is a white plague, after all."

"Your hair was black, originally, wasn't it?" Retsu asked, and Juushirou nodded, surprised.

"You're the first person to ask me about that, Unohana-sensei." He told her. "I think most people assume it's naturally this way - some kind of rare gene that meant I was born with white hair...except, of course, I wasn't."

Retsu smiled.

"Your lashes and brows are so dark, it's only logical that your hair once was as well." She pointed out. "And there were cases, in our Clan's medical records, where the same thing happened. Among those who were possessed of the strongest reiatsu - sometimes, a high, persistant fever could cause the same symptom in them as it has in you."

"Really?" Juushirou's eyes widened. "Then...did they recover?"

"Mostly, yes, in some vein or form."

"And their hair...did it ever...?"

"Not so far as I know." Retsu shook her head, her expression becoming sympathetic at his sudden fall in expression. "Now, don't look at me like that, please, Ukitake-kun. As I already said, you have your life. Your hair is a very small matter, isn't it? A battle scar, perhaps, that indicates your victory against the enemy. Not your defeat. You shouldn't hang your head - there are more important things in this world than looking like everyone else."

"I know." Juushirou sighed heavily. "I'm sorry, Sensei. It's not like that. Just, my hair turned the night Father lost his fight against the wounds the Hollow gave him. So the two things are in my mind together, and I thought...if my hair started to grow back black, it might..."

"Mark closure?" Retsu asked gently, and Juushirou nodded.

"I...I suppose."

"Do you need such a thing to happen, to have closure?" Retsu pressed softly, and Juushirou looked startled.

"I'm sorry, Sensei, I don't..."

"Closure implies something is over." Retsu smiled. "But your Father's love for you isn't over, is it? It's not ended because he's died. He lives within you, just as your Mother does, and all those ancestors before you. Closure is something you seek when death comes to claim you. While you're still alive, there's no need to shut any doors or bar any windows. Don't you agree?"

Juushirou's eyes widened, and Retsu nodded.

"Think on it." She advised. "And get some rest, before someone comes with your breakfast. You'll need your strength, because I want to treat you again this afternoon, and your friends will be clamouring to see you, no doubt, at some point inbetween...since I understand from Genryuusai-sama that today you'll be allowed visitors for the first time."

"Unohana-sensei..." As the Shinigami rose to leave, Juushirou called her back and she turned, eying him quizzically.

"Yes?"

"Will you...please..." Juushirou reddened, looking awkward, then, "Noone's ever talked to me about my disease before. Not like that. Will you, please? I'd like to know...whatever there is to know about it. The more I know, the less it frightens me. But if it's you...I think you know more than Father could tell me, when I was a boy. And if it's not too much of a bother, I...I'd like to know my enemy a little better."

"Even if the history is not a pretty one to hear?" Retsu questioned, and Juushirou nodded.

"Yes. Even so." He murmured. "Please. If you don't mind."

Retsu smiled, shaking his head.

"I have no objection, if that is your conviction." She agreed, sitting back down. "What is it, then, that you want to know?"

"You said the Clans eradicated the disease by eradicating sufferers." Juushirou said slowly. "But obviously that didn't happen in my family's case. Do you think...was that a mistake? Should they have? A lot of my ancestors had tragedies in their lives - children who died at birth, or sickly adults who caused the family strife by their existence. Would our family have been better, in the end, without the curse?"

"What do you think?" Retsu murmured, and Juushirou sighed.

"I want to think that it didn't matter." He admitted. "But it's not the first time I've wondered if it did. Having a sickly child was something Father always had to deal with. I took his wife from him. I had to be constantly looked after and protected from the whispers of people outside. Then he lost his life to protect me, because this weak body couldn't protect itself. It frustrates me, living with this, but it must frustrate the people around me even more. Yet they keep supporting me - regardless of those things. And sometimes, I realise what a big burden it must be."

Retsu rested her hand on his head, eying him thoughtfully as she did so.

"I believe in life." She said at length. "And I believe in people being given the chance to live that life. You are proof, I think, that even a child born with this cursed illness can prevail and find a purpose in this world. You have a future ahead of you that is as bright and as significant as any of your peers, I think. You have that resolve of will to keep going and that's what will define you, as time goes on. You are not weak. And looking at you makes me wonder how many like souls were slain in error or fear - how many like you might've been on the verge of changing this world, but never got the chance."

She shrugged, removing her hand and offering him a smile.

"No, Ukitake-kun. I don't think your family were wrong." She said evenly. "And from all I've heard, they don't think so, either. So don't you worry about it. Okay? The only one living with the burden is you. Everyone else close to you lives with something else - they live with the gift of having you in their lives. And nothing - not even purity of blood - can replace that. Your Mother knew it, and I'm sure your Father did too. I'm sure they'd never have regretted knowing you - so don't you start to regret being here to know. All right?"

Juushirou's eyes widened with wonder as he digested this, and a faint smile touched his lips.

"I won't." He murmured. "Thank you, Sensei. I never thought of it that way before, but...but even just by talking to you, I feel...less uncertain. And better. Much better. Even if I did a silly thing - that's all it was, in the end. And even if I do silly things in the future and wind up sick again - well, that's just how I am."

His eyes glinted with humour suddenly.

"I'm not going to let it kill me until I've had a chance to look into all the potential ways of dying this life has to offer, after all." He said resolutely, and as Retsu stared at him, he laughed.

"Something my brother Hiro said to me once." He explained, looking rueful. "That I couldn't let this curse kill me until I'd at least sampled the other options on the market. He said it's no fun to just curl up and die from one thing when there might be a much more exciting way to leave this world than just coughing myself to death."

He shrugged.

"I think it was his idea of being comforting, when I was feeling low." He added. "At the time I think I threw things at him - but right now it's struck me as funny for the first time."

Retsu chuckled.

"I see." She responded. "Yes, Genryuusai-sama has mentioned to me your surprising and close-knit family. I'm sure your brother would be glad his words were finally being understood."

"Yes." Juushirou agreed. "He's not good at expressing it right, but I know he worries. He and his twin sister are right after me, you see, in age, so I think - even though they don't say it to my face - that they take it as their job to look out for me. Even though I'm the oldest - it's always been sort of that way."

"Do you miss them?"

"A lot." Juushirou agreed. "But I'm glad they can't see me this way - they'd only worry, if they did."

"Speaking of people worrying, it seems you have a young visitor even this early." Retsu's eyes twinkled, gesturing to the entrance, and Juushirou looked startled, shifting his gaze to take in the apprehensive form of his classmate standing in the doorway.

"Juu-kun?"

"Shunsui." Juushirou faltered, then, as he registered his friend's term of address. "I thought that...Juu-kun..."

"Ah, sorry." Shunsui looked sheepish. "I'm bad at remembering things like that. You just...right now you look like Juu-kun. So it kind of just slipped out."

He glanced at Retsu questioningly.

"Is it all right for me to come in and see him, Unohana-san?"

"I'll let you boys speak together for a while." Retsu nodded. "So long as you make sure you're not late for your morning class, Kyouraku-kun."

"Believe me, I wouldn't dare." Shunsui said ruefully, and Retsu's smile widened. She bowed her head to them, withdrawing from the chamber and pulling the door shut softly behind her, leaving the two boys alone.

"You look mangled." Shunsui observed, and Juushirou shrugged.

"Kidou treatment hurts." He said simply. "Even though it works."

"You're not mad at me...because I slipped and called you Juu-kun again?" Shunsui looked apprehensive. "I didn't mean to, only really, right now I couldn't call you anything else. And I guess...in my head...I've started thinking of you as Juu-kun, even though you told me why you didn't like it. So..."

Juushirou smiled wryly at his classmate's casual explanation, shaking his head.

"It's all right." he managed. "I suppose it's okay...if you're calling me that. If it's just you who is, I suppose...I don't mind. After all, Father wouldn't want me to be clinging on to bad memories forever, especially not when I have good ones to call on too."

Shunsui looked startled, then he returned the smile.

"Hopefully your father'd forgive me." He said evenly. "For stealing his pet name."

"I think he would." Juushirou agreed pensively. "He was...a pretty understanding person."

"How are you feeling, anyhow?" Shunsui settled himself on the edge of the bunk, casting his companion a quizzical look as he reached across to brush the other boy's forehead. "You don't feel as hot as you did, but..."

"I'm healing." Juushirou assured him. "Unohana-sensei's been treating me and she's used various kinds of complicated Kidou to help repair the damage in my chest. It isn't very pleasant, because my lungs are still so sensitive - but when she's done, it feels much better. So I think I'll be healed more quickly for it. She's very kind, too - so I'm in safe hands."

"Unohana Retsu has that kind of reputation." Shunsui's eyes twinkled. "She's the youngest ever head of the Unohana-ke to wear the _haori_, but she's also the most powerful healer for generations. You know that they're a healing clan, the Unohana? Well, the rumours go that she was able to use various types of healing Kidou even as a child - and Yama-jii trained her for a time, too. So she's probably the best of the best, Juu-kun - you should be honoured."

"I know the Unohana are healers. And Genryuusai-sensei did say that she was a former student." Juushirou remembered. "Besides, she told me herself that she was the only one in her family who knew the technique to treat my condition like this."

"I guess it makes her our senpai." Shunsui reflected. "It's a pity Naoko-chan doesn't have the same serenity about her, don't you think? Naoko's pretty enough, after all. But Unohana-san is something else."

"Shunsui! She's as good as being a teacher, when she's here like this!" Juushirou stared. "You can't flirt with her!"

"I can't." Shunsui agreed regretfully. "I'm not in the right position to do it, either. I'm just the irresponsible boy from the Kyouraku-ke. But _you're_ in a much better position, if you ask me. The wounded soldier in the arms of his devoted nurse - that could work, you know, if you played it properly."

"_Shunsui!_" Juushirou's cheeks flushed red, and Shunsui chuckled with amusement.

"So you think she's pretty too, obviously." He teased. "Well, you are a normal teenage boy after all."

"Shunsui, stop it." Juushirou looked indignant. "It's not like that!"

"Why not?" Shunsui looked innocent. "She's not that much older than we are, surely? You can't tell me you don't have even a tiny crush on her. She's been tending to you night and day, after all. Even with all her busy workload - for shame!"

Juushirou tensed for a moment, then he sighed, smiling in resignation as he sank back against his pillows.

"You never give up, do you?" He murmured softly, and Shunsui shook his head, eyes twinkling.

"Nope." He agreed cheerfully.

"I don't have a crush on Unohana-sensei." Juushirou shook his head. "But I think she's kind and friendly and I like her very much. She has a way of smoothing things over so that they don't worry me so much any more - that's all. It's nothing else than that. I'm just not like you in that respect, Shunsui. I don't look at all girls as that kind of challenge."

"It wouldn't hurt to look at one or two." Shunsui pointed out, and Juushirou shrugged.

"You and I are different." He repeated. "Besides..."

"Besides?"

"I told my family when I agreed to come here that I wasn't going to accept a wife who'd marry me because of how well Father's left the Ukitake-ke - or because she feels sorry for my condition and wants to take care of me." Juushirou said frankly. "I'm not interested in being profit or pity, and with a situation like mine, there's few other reasons any girl would ever show an interest in me."

"You really like to do yourself down, you know that?"

"No. I'm just realistic." Juushirou smiled. "I know how things work, Shunsui-kun. Besides I'm not at the Academy for that kind of thing. And I'd only want a girl that I was really in love with. Not one to pass the time - or whose affection was a mirage."

"They're simpler that way, sometimes." Shunsui said pensively, and Juushirou frowned, seeing the clouding in his companion's brown eyes.

"Shunsui?"

"No. Nothing." Shunsui shook his head, offering him a lazy grin, and in a moment the look was gone. "Though I guess if you've never been in love, you don't know how overrated it is. Having your heart broken is painful, you know - you might find its better not to delve that deeply."

"You sound like the man of experience."

"I've had many experiences." Shunsui winked. "Most of which would probably shock you. And you're in a frail, delicate medical state at the moment, so I won't put your recovery in jeopardy by sharing them."

He eyed his friend keenly.

"After all, we've all been worried as hell about you - noone's let us near you for three days straight, and I'm half afraid Hirata's going to lose his wits and attack me if it goes on much longer."

"Hirata?" Juushirou looked surprised, and Shunsui nodded.

"He's been beside himself without you there." He agreed. "And I'm his prime target for blame. Not that he's wrong about that - but I think it'd be a good thing if he saw for himself you were in one piece."

"I hadn't thought about that." Juushirou frowned. "I'm sorry, Shunsui. I didn't mean people to blame you for my stupidity."

"It was Team Stupidity, lets leave it at that." Shunsui grinned, his dark eyes lighting up with humour. "It's fine. He'll probably be mad that I'm the first one to see you, but that can't be helped - I made a special effort and got up extra-early so I'd have time between breakfast and class, after all. You should be honoured, Juu-kun. I don't get up that early for everyone, after all."

"The sun is up." Juushirou's gaze flitted to the window. "And high in the sky already. Shunsui, that's not early!"

"But since our adventure, I have extra cleaning and tidying duties in the Kitchen before breakfast." Shunsui pulled a graphic face. "So today I got up super-early and did them before it was properly light, just so I'd have a chance to snatch my food before the rush and make time to come talk to you. Sensei told us last night that we could see you from today - and I was determined I was going to be the first person that did."

Juushirou eyed him in surprise, and a sheepish expression crossed his companion's features.

"You're going to be stuck with me from now on." He added. "Sorry about that."

Despite himself, Juushirou grinned.

"I have seven siblings and I'm used to crazy and unpredictable" He reflected. "No matter how much you try, Shunsui, you can't scare me."

He settled his blankets more firmly over his body, then,

"Are you in a lot of trouble, by the way, for what happened? You mentioned Kitchen duty, but..."

"Trouble?" Shunsui looked surprised, then shook his head. "No. Considering what happened, I'm surprisingly off the hook, in fact."

He grimaced.

"Yama-jii and I had a long chat, in which I accidentally called him that to his face and survived." He added. "But I think...we came to an understanding. So it's all right. I'm not being sent home. He says I have too much potential to waste it that early on...and if things are the way he explained them, maybe I can see a point in, well, staying and looking at things again. It's not like I don't like the old dude, after all. He's pretty fair, really, even if he is right on the ball."

He sighed.

"I don't know how I feel about being a Shinigami or any of that, yet." He murmured. "But I'm relieved, in a way, he didn't throw me out. So I guess on some levels I must want to be here - as time goes on, I suppose I'll find out what those levels are."

He tilted his head on one side.

"And you?"

"All Sensei said to me was that my body's current state was enough of a reminder of why there are rules." Juushirou said ruefully. "And he's right. Next time I'll go for help. Or maybe I'll leave you to be eaten by the Hollow - what do you think?"

"No you won't." Shunsui said comfortably. "Of all the people in this school, Juu-kun, you're the one person who'd never let anyone be eaten by a Hollow if you could stop it."

"What about you?" Juushirou objected. "You went after Megumi-san, sure enough."

Shunsui's eyes clouded again, and he sighed.

"Yes." He murmured. "Fat lot of use it was."

"Did you find her, then? Or...?"

"Yama-jii didn't tell you?"

"Sensei?" Juushirou looked surprised. "No. Not one word - why?"

"I did find her." Shunsui's lips thinned. "And I didn't. And then the Hollow got in my way."

"You did and you didn't?" Juushirou frowned. "Meaning?"

"Meaning I found her, but she wasn't there when I did." Shunsui said grimly, and slowly Juushirou's eyes widened as he digested his friend's meaning.

"She was dead." He whispered, and Shunsui nodded.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. I wanted to help the girl, silly as she was." Shunsui rubbed his temples. "But right now, you're not to worry about that either. It's done, after all. I'll just get Niisama to afford Kyouko whatever protection he can when she crosses the border. It's out of our hands."

"Mm." Juushirou sighed, then, "Shunsui?"

"Yes?"

"Why don't you ever say that someone has died?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"When you told Sora about my Father, you said he'd taken a long journey." Juushirou reflected. "Just now, too, you said Megumi wasn't there. It's like...you euphemise it, whenever it comes up. I've been meaning to ask you about this for a while, actually - but whenever my Father's mentioned, or yours, you get a funny look in your eye. And I guess...I wondered if maybe it was something that you were upset about."

Shunsui stared at him, stricken, and at the older boy's discomfiture, Juushirou reddened.

"I'm sorry." He said quickly, holding up his hands. "I said something I shouldn't...I'm prying into things that you don't want to talk about, aren't I?"

"Yes." Shunsui admitted. "You are, rather. But I hadn't realised I was so obvious - so it's my fault, I suppose."

"If you don't want to talk about it..."

"It's not that." Shunsui shrugged. "Truth is, I don't talk about things a lot. It's just how I am. I'm not a confiding person."

"I see."

"I don't generally have many people to confide in, either." Shunsui continued. "I get on with my brother, mostly. But he's older than me, and we didn't grow up together. So he was a stranger until I was fourteen. I didn't grow up with Mother, really, either. Not after Father died. So...they're people I care about. But they're not people I burden with things. If that makes sense."

"Then I'm sorry I asked. I won't ask again - not if it's that way." Juushirou said seriously. "It's just...you seem sad about something, sometimes. And I wondered if I could help. That's all."

Shunsui eyed him keenly for a moment, then he nodded, a faint smile touching his lips.

"I think you_ might _be someone I can talk to about things." He said, with a frankness that took his companion off guard. "But not right at the moment. I have to order my thoughts first...and besides, you scared me half to death with your little performance in that cave. I need to calm my nerves before I delve into the darkness and pull out sleeping skeletons."

"I'm sorry." Juushirou looked sheepish, though he felt a sense of warmth at Shunsui's honest words. "Especially since you weren't prepared for it to happen. Thank you for helping me like you did. I was...more than a little bit messed up. With the Hollow, and then the thrust of _reiryoku_, and the fever - I probably acted like an idiot, to be truthful. And said things...maybe..."

"You did look like you were going to go weepy on me at one point." Shunsui grinned. "But it's fine. And better I know about these kinds of things now, surely? After all, we _are_ friends, aren't we? I was being serious when I said you were stuck with me now. I know it's been undefined to this point, and you've spent most of your time with Houjou and Hirata-kun - but there's a reason I ghost in and out of your group from time to time. I like them okay, but I meant what I said in the cave. You're the one who's been fascinating since the first day."

"Fascinating?" Juushirou stared, taken off guard a second time, and Shunsui chuckled.

"No, not in that way." He said playfully. "Though you're not unattractive, and you shouldn't underestimate that wounded soldier appeal. No. it's because you really do have a totally different viewpoint to anyone else I've ever met. It's straight forward. Looking ahead. No ulterior motives. No Clan agendas. And I've never known anyone to be like that. Everyone's always wanted something. But you don't. You're just Ukitake Juushirou. And like I've said before - it's one of your charms."

He winked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Of course, it helps that you're the kind of guy to come into danger and fire Kidou to save a classmate's life." He added casually. "But that's a bonus, I suppose."

"Consider it an optional extra." Juushirou grimaced. "No charge."

"You really have those attacks a lot, then?"

"Not so much in the last couple of years, but after Father died, I was pretty much confined to my room with them." Juushirou responded. "I lost my way a bit then. My body's always weak - but losing Otousama made my mind weak, too. It took a while for me to get past it and move on."

Shunsui pursed his lips.

"See...that's why I think maybe I can tell you about things and have you understand them." He reflected. "Because you tell me things so openly, without worrying about what will happen if you do. You trust in people, and I like that you do. Even if it's dangerous, maybe, to trust in everyone - its not a bad way to see the world."

"I can trust you, though, so there's no risk." Juushirou grinned. "After our adventure, I don't think I'd have any doubts. You might be a flake and a flirt, but you're not completely unreliable or irresponsible. If you were, you'd have abandoned me in the forest or in that cave - but instead you did everything you could to help me even though I freaked you out so wholeheartedly by collapsing and coughing blood."

"Welcome." Shunsui winked, and Juushirou's grin widened.

"You've often said things that have made me think, and they've made me do so all the more since we got stuck out there like that." He added. "I think...Genryuusai-sensei knew what he was doing when he let you into the Academy."

"Perhaps more than I did, to be honest." Shunsui nodded.

"Tell me something, though?" Juushirou asked, and Shunsui looked surprised.

"Mm? What's up? You're a little old to need to know the facts of life, surely? Especially coming from such a big family."

"Shunsui! I'm being serious." Juushirou scolded, and Shunsui chuckled.

"Even hoarse and croaky, you can scold me." He said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Well? Go ahead. I'm open. What's on your mind?"

"Did your brother really sweet-talk Genryuusai-sensei into taking you into his Academy?"

"Is it important?"

"No, but I'm curious. Between friends. Did he?"

"What do you think?" Shunsui raised an eyebrow, and Juushirou frowned.

"I don't think it sounds like something that Sensei would do." He admitted. "I haven't from the start. But..."

"Absolutely." Shunsui agreed. "He's not a bribeable man."

"So...how _did _you get to come here?"

"Same way you did, I imagine." Shunsui shrugged. "I took the test."

"But..." Juushirou frowned, digesting this. "Sora said you hated being taught and had to be locked in to your classroom if your tutor wanted to keep you put. Surely..."

"I took the exam of my own volition, Juu-kun. Well, in a manner of speaking." Shunsui looked rueful. "The alternative was that, if I didn't go to Yama-jii's loony camp, I'd be found the most strict and unfriendly bride candidate and forced into a marriage of politics. Oniisama got the best of me, and I knew he meant it. I'm not ready to marry - not now, maybe not ever. So this seemed like the safer option."

"So you came here, and sat the test because of it. Even though you've let everyone believe otherwise." Juushirou's eyes became slits. "But you must've ranked. To have been in top class, you must've..."

He paused.

"I was second...and Shihouin-kun was fourth." He murmured, counting people off on his fingers as he did so. "Sora's told me she was fifth, and Shikibu-san was sixth. Hirata said he was seventh, and Edogawa-san was eighth. I know Houjou-kun scraped into ninth. So...that leaves..."

His eyes widened, staring at Shunsui in sudden realisation.

"Either you came joint second with me, or you came top." He whispered.

Shunsui didn't respond, and Juushirou's heart skipped a beat.

"Kuchiki-kun has never once said he was top." He realised. "Even though everyone's assumed it, he's never said it. He doesn't tell lies, after all. But he's made plenty of noise about being top in Kidou and Hohou and so on. So if that was the case in the guidance tests, he'd..."

He swallowed.

"Kuchiki-kun and I got the same mark." He murmured. "And...Shunsui..._you_ were top. Weren't you? It was _you_. You've not said it - but it was."

Shunsui was silent for a moment, then a sheepish smile touched his lips.

"Busted." He admitted. "But I didn't do it on purpose. It was just hard to concentrate on fudging answers when I had my brother staring down at me the whole time and it was a blazing hot day."

Juushirou stared at his friend in complete incredulity.

"You were top. All the time, you were top." He whispered. "And your _reiryoku_ - the _shakka-hou_...everything else. You've hidden it - but that's it, isn't it? And Sensei knows it, too. Which is why he hasn't sent you home."

"Mm." Shunsui sighed. "It's a lot of hassle, when people have expectations on you. So I'd rather you didn't mention this to the others. But I guess so. See, I told you before that Father was a Shinigami. And I'm his son. I really am - in pretty much all ways, to be honest. Tokutarou-nii wants me to be the next Kyouraku to take the _haori_, so he sent me here."

He sighed again, shrugging his shoulders in resignation.

"My Clan are different from some in that they take seriously the original idea of the strongest Clansman or woman taking the _haori_. Most Clans just elect the leader, to prevent a conflict of interest. But not mine." He said softly. "Father was the last to wear the _haori_ for Eighth District. Uncle took over until Tokutarou-nii came of age, but the Clan wouldn't recognise him as Gotei, and Tokutarou-nii has flatly refused to have anything to do with it. He's said from the start that I'm the one who inherited Father's talents that way, and it should be my role. It's one of the reasons, I think, that he brought me home and made such a thing of building a bond with me. Not that I don't think he cares about me, because he does. It's just...like I said before. Clans always have agendas, and they put up barriers between people. That's all. Even Mother's on board with this idea...I was the only one who didn't want to do it."

He offered Juushirou a wry smile.

"I'd seen enough of the Shinigami thing." He added. "But maybe...I suppose we'll see. How things go from here. Because I know what I'm not willing to do or become. And I've known that since I was six years old - there are lines I refuse to cross and burdens I refuse to bear."

"Does that mean you're not going to coast classes any more?" Juushirou asked, and Shunsui spread his hands.

"I'm not naturally good at the hard work thing." He admitted. "If I ever have worked, it's been in fits and starts. It's true that my tutors had to lock me in when I was younger, otherwise I'd escape from them and disappear. But even so, I learnt a lot of things without really trying to. I have a good memory and things stuck - whether I wanted them to or not. Like the _shakka-hou_ spell."

He grinned.

"I know that for keeps, now. But even if I'm allowed to take practical Kidou with the rest of you from this point on, there'll doubtless be days I'm away with the fairies and days I'm not. It's just how I am. I'm not an academic or a slogger. I like an easy life."

Juushirou chuckled, shaking his head.

"Some might call that genius." He teased. "Learning without meaning to, and being able to do things first try."

"God, no. Don't use such awful words!" Shunsui looked aghast, shaking his head hurriedly. "Please, take it back - I'm lazy and incompetent and haphazard, that's all. Don't for God's sake start thinking that I'm some kind of spiritual prodigy! Can you imagine what my life would be like if people looked at me that way?"

"I was teasing." Juushirou relented. "And I won't say as much to anyone else. I won't take it back, though. Whatever you say about it, it's probably at least some way true."

He shrugged, settling more comfortably against his pillows.

"I'm looking forward to coming back to class, now." He reflected. "If you're at that level without even trying, Shunsui-kun, I want to see what happens when you do."

Shunsui did not answer for a moment, turning to glance around him, and as Juushirou watched, he got to his feet, moving to check that the two of them were quite alone in the little back-chamber of the Healing Bay. After checking the door was properly shut, he returned to his perch, shooting his companion a sober look.

"In that case, I want to ask you something." He said softly, and at the sudden change in his demeanour, Juushirou shot him a startled look.

"Sure, go ahead." He agreed. "What is it?"

"About Megumi." Shunsui hesitated, then, "I think Yama-jii wants to keep us out of it. Whatever happened to her, it's a big deal and it involves Clan. It would probably be stupid and dangerous if we got involved, after all - so I think he'll take it himself from here."

"So..?" Juushirou looked quizzical. "That seems sensible to me. What about it?"

Shunsui's expression became haunted.

"I was just too late to save her." He murmured. "And I don't like that feeling. I've felt it before - the sense of being completely useless no matter how good my intentions. So when I was out there, alone with her, I made her a promise. And even though she didn't hear it - I want to keep it all the same."

"What kind of a promise?" A wary look entered Juushirou's hazel eyes, and Shunsui's lips thinned.

"To try and find out what happened to her." He said softly. "And, if I could, to do something about it."

Juushirou's eyes widened.

"Are you serious?" He whispered. "Even if it means going up against who knows what kind of enemy? If Sensei's involved, why not leave it with him? Surely he'll get to the bottom of it!"

"Maybe he will, but maybe he won't." Shunsui shrugged. "Megumi was a citizen of District One, true enough, and she was murdered on land he controls. But even so, his focus is with us and I doubt he's going to spend a lot of time dwelling on it. Also, there are a few things I didn't say to him - didn't feel I could, because I don't have any evidence to back them up. Either way, I can see Megumi's death being swallowed up in political red tape and just forgotten after a while. And I don't want to let that happen. Silly and wretched as she was, she wasn't a bad person and she didn't deserve her life to be cut short like it was. I want to keep my promise, Juushirou. I want to find out what happened."

Juushirou sighed, gazing at his hands as he registered the sincerity in his companion's tones.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" He asked at length. "If you're so set on doing something, and I can't talk you out of it, why are you sharing it with me?"

"Because I hoped you might help me." Shunsui admitted, and Juushirou's head jerked up.

"Help...you?"

"Because you come from the Districts, and you know that people there are people, not just objects to be used and discarded by Clan." Shunsui nodded. "I really believe she was murdered for that reason, Juu-kun - and I don't like it. It shouldn't be that way. Her life was important too - just like yours or mine or anyone else's. And besides, so long as this remains open, Kyouko could end up in trouble, too. I don't know if she's got to District Eight and though I've sent word to my brother via Yama-jii's channels, I have no way of knowing if he'll be able to track her down in time."

Juushirou gazed at his companion for a moment, then,

"Megumi's honour aside, why are you so intent on this?" He asked softly. "What do you know - or think you know - that's driving you on?"

Shunsui's brows knitted together, and he sighed.

"It's not a knowing. More of a feeling." He said. "That nothing adds up to what it should be. And it worries me that this isn't just the murder of one town girl. There's something else she was connected with - and this is just the tip of the iceberg. And though I can't explain what I mean more clearly than that, yet - I have a strong feeling that if it gets forgotten, it'll be a bad thing. That things will get worse. For all of us. Maybe you most of all."

"Me most of..." Juushirou bit his lip, then, "Because of what you said before? About people not wanting me here in the first place?"

"Maybe." Shunsui agreed. "Look, think about it at the very least. I know you won't talk to anyone else if I ask you not to, and I know you're smart and rational and you think things through. But if you don't want to do it, I won't try and force you to."

He smiled ruefully.

"I know that, even if I promised you Kyouraku protection or help, you wouldn't take it." He added. "And I don't want to make you a target. But ..."

"It's all right." Juushirou made up his mind, meeting his friend's gaze with a slight, troubled smile. "You don't need to say any more, Shunsui. And I don't need any time to think about it. What you said about Megumi's life is right...if we ignore it, it's as though we're saying her life is less important than anyone else's lives...and that keeping promises to people like her and Kyouko is less important than keeping our word to other people. I'm not Clan, so I can't look at things that way. I don't know if I'll be much help to you, because I have no connections and I know nothing about the world you come from. But if there is something I can do - you can count me in."

"The fact you don't know about that world - the fact you don't have Clan ties - is the very reason why I think you're the right person to ask." Shunsui's expression became one of relief. "Thank you, Juu-kun."

"Don't mention it." Juushirou said wryly. "I've already realised being associated with you is high maintenance - I may as well go along for the whole ride."

* * *

**Author's Note: 'Haibyou'**

_In Ukitake's biography in Vol 18 of the manga, it's said that he was born with a lung condition. The term used is 'haibyou'_( 肺病) _which literally means 'lung sickness'. The Japanese use it to describe general lung disease but also to refer directly to __**pulmonary tuberculosis**__. This is where the confusion has been over what his disease actually is – some sources say TB, others simply say a lung illness. The English manga translation played it safe and went for lung condition, but translating it as TB is far from incorrect._

_Ukitake's symptomology appears to fit with the symptomology of pulmonary TB very closely – except for the fact that he is not and has never been infectious with the disease. (There's no indication of his family having it, for instance, and he wasn't prevented from mixing at the Academy, so he mustn't have posed any kind of threat to his fellows). Still, in a soul based illness, I guess the rules are slightly different._

_For this reason, it seemed logical for Soul Society to officially name the disease Ukitake suffers from as 'haibyou', but I've also mentioned the terms TB and White Plague coming from the real world originally. Personally, I'm 99% sure myself that TB is probably what Kubo-sensei was implying, because it makes the most sense. But 'haibyou' is the official term used, and so 'haibyou' it will be ;)_

_Anything else I've said about the background of his illness is my own imagination letting loose ;)_


	15. Enishi's Fury

**Chapter Fourteen: Enishi's Fury**

There was a gentle breeze in the gardens today.

The slender young woman walked slowly between the rows of vines and bushes, pausing at each one for a short time as she fingered this blossom or that, a bittersweet sensation curling inside her young heart. Their beauty was reflected in a thousand vibrant colours, yet somehow she felt they were the walls of her cage, their gentle appearance belying the dangers that lay beyond their reach.

This was her paradise, but it was also her prison.

She sighed, dropping down onto the grass and leaning back on her hands as she gazed up at the cloud-dotted sky over her head. It was going to be another hot, tropical day in District Seven, with humidity already beginning to rise as the sun climbed higher in the sky above. Such a wild, savage region did not suit her ordered personality one bit, and the insects and creatures the warm weather drew out of hiding both disgusted and annoyed her with their persistent calls and irritating bites.

So this was the nature and abundance of District Seven, was it? Well, so far as she was concerned, they could keep it to themselves.

Still, at least she had been left to herself these past few days. She sighed, running her fingers though the long, wild blades of grass that softened the ground beneath her, tapping her sandalled feet idly against the greenery. She had never minded being alone, and since she had arrived in Seventh District, she had found herself becoming more and more solitary, keeping to her quarters as much as she could manage when members of the Family were around outside.

Of course, at the moment, Seimaru was away from the estate.

Her lip curled at the thought of her brash, twisted fiance. He was handsome, perhaps, and powerful enough to raise her perceived status to a level above what it currently was. But even so, she looked down on him. He was cold to the core, greedy, grasping and completely unaware of how best to treat the bride-to-be that had been handed to him on a plate. She was, after all, the beauty of the Shihouin, with an outstanding academic record, her skills and knowledge unmatched by any other female member of the Clan. Many of the family considered her a jewel in their crown, on account of her striking appearance, and she alone of the girls of her generation had inherited the ability which passed exclusively through the female line from one great Shihouin woman to another. She was the shadow-cat; the one with the senses and stealth to mark her out as exceptional in every regard. Like her younger brother, she was considered special among the Shihouin for the power she had inherited.

In comparison, he was dull and uninteresting - a man with blood on his hands, yet without any of the finesse or style of an assassin's training. He was a rogue - a selfish murderer who talked down to women and who therefore underestimated their potential. Though he bragged and threatened, his reiatsu was no more significant than half a dozen other Clansfolk she had met in her lifetime, and for that reason she derided him, knowing that although he bore the mantle of the Endou-ke, there were even within his own family those with greater wits and spiritual potential. Seimaru knew nothing, either, of the Shihouin's deep respect for their women kin, nor the arts and abilities possessed only through the female line. He did not know that when her mother had passed away, her life had been celebrated with all the fervour and devotion that befitted a goddess rather than one who had walked among men. The strongest reiatsu in the Shihouin-ke was often concealed in the heart of a woman, not in the sword of a man - and her mother before her, as Shihouin as her father with the purest of Clan blood had passed all of her attributes to her wilful, proud only daughter.

No, Seimaru did not understand this. He did not know that the creature he caged was a wild animal with a dignity and ability that far outweighed his expectations. She hated him on all levels. And every day her hatred of him grew stronger.

Yet she had not resisted her family's wishes, nor tried to escape her confinement. Much as it brought her no pleasure to be here, she was smart enough to realise how much danger was involved for her Father and siblings if she was to somehow displease her hosts. She was, after all, a Shihouin. She was capable of sacrifice. And if she was the sacrifice, so be it.

At first, yes, she had cried. But now her heart was settled - in the name of her Clan, she knew what she must do.

"Midori-sama?"

The voice of her lady in waiting and companion drew her from her reverie, and she sat up, neatening her appearance as the slender form of the young girl appeared between the trees at the furthest end of the gardens. She was as perfectly turned out as ever, her thick ebony hair pulled back beneath the delicate bonnet that the female Endou-ke servants used to protect their heads from the heat of the midday sun. It did not suit her, somehow, Midori decided absently, eying her servant critically as she ran forward, dropping immediately into her customary curtsey then raising her head to her mistress's. Yet this woman, low-born and insignificant as she was, had become Midori's one unlikely ally in this labyrinth of darkness that had become her home. For, unlike all the others who served the Endou-ke, this girl also came from outside. And Midori, despite her deep-rooted Clan pride, had often found it comforting to hear the unfamiliar lilt of her accent, and know she wasn't the only one far from home.

"Midori-sama, beg my pardon for interrupting your thoughts, but I bring a message from the main house." The girl said anxiously, and for the first time Midori saw a glitter of consternation in the servant's dark eyes. "Seimaru-sama has returned home, and asks to see you at once."

"Seimaru is?" Despite herself, Midori's heart clenched briefly with fear and then with derision at her own instinctive reaction. "I see. Then he comes directly to intrude on my peace and quiet, does he?"

"I believe his intentions are so, mistress, yes." The girl nodded her head, and Midori sighed resignedly.

"Then I suppose, prisoner that I am, I have no choice but to receive him with an adequate pretence of warmth." She said sadly. "Thank you, at least, for giving me prior warning. You must've run all the way here to beat him, after all."

"I thought you'd want to know, Midori-sama." The girl said honestly, and Midori nodded, getting languidly to her feet.

"I suppose I should go and see what the fool wants." She said with a frown. "Will you accompany me, please? I would rather not be alone with my future husband at any time, but especially not before we are married."

The maid bowed her head in acquiescence, falling into step just behind her mistress as the two of them made their way back towards the annexe building itself. As they drew closer, Midori was able to see her fiance, two or three of his retainers in tow, and she took a deep breath, composing herself to greet him.

"Well, Midori-dono, so you are here after all." Seimaru eyed her up and down for a moment, then offered her a cool, derisive smile. "I hadn't realised that shadow people spent so much time prowling in the gardens - but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You're a hunter, after all, aren't you? And these grounds are teeming with insignificant prey."

He glanced at the maidservant for a moment, then, "Do you seek a chaperone, then, for our conversation? I'm hurt. I've only just returned from my long and dangerous trip, and this is how I am greeted?"

"We are not yet wed, Seimaru-dono." Midori said evenly. "I am a daughter of an honourable man, and I will keep the traditions of my family where unmarried women are concerned. I am not to be treated as a common town whore, after all, surely? I am Shihouin, just as you are Endou. In this, you must be able to understand my feelings. After all, our match is an alliance between our families, as well as between us. You would not want it said that I was treated badly, would you, by the Endou-ke?"

"Perish the thought." Seimaru looked amused. "That's what I like about you, Midori-chan. You're so elegantly proud and distant and you hold your head up high. It piques my interest, knowing you aren't a woman to be easily trampled into the ground. No, it serves me well, that haughtiness you possess. And I am glad to see you in good health. You want for nothing, I presume?"

"I am quite well, thank you." Midori agreed. "I trust your visit to District One went well?"

"Yes. Yes, it did." Seimaru's eyes twinkled. "In fact, I managed to find time to meet with your young brother while I was there, too. He's quite the young Clansman now, isn't he? Almost an adult in his own right. I was very impressed by him - he does true justice to your Father with his devotion to his Clan."

Despite herself, Midori flinched at this, biting her lip.

"Kai is a loyal member of the family, just as I and my older brother are." She said quietly. "Though I hope you did not inconvenience him too greatly. He is, after all, in District One on Clan business...and to have that business revealed would not help you, either."

"True enough, but you needn't worry. I think Kai is more than smart enough to keep out of trouble." Seimaru reached across to touch Midori's cheek, and she jerked back from his touch, holding up her hands.

"I am your companion in words only, Seimaru-dono, until the day we are wed." She said, censure in her tones. "A Shihouin woman will not be touched in any other way by a man who seriously seeks to wed her until the day the ceremony is made official before witnesses of both Clans. That is the law our family subscribe to. You are bound to obey it also, as you promised my Father and my Uncle when the contract was set."

"Tsch." Seimaru lowered his hands, letting out a rueful chuckle. "You really are determined to be austere, aren't you? Still, little matter. I have plenty of time to play with you later, don't I? For now, things go according to plan. You will soon discover, Midori-chan, that this is a safer place to be than anywhere else, after all. You should be grateful that I've chosen to accept your hand in marriage. You will do well, after all, as the mother of my children."

He bowed his head mockingly towards her, then gestured to his retainers, withdrawing from the grounds. As the gate was once more locked behind them, Midori sighed, shaking her head as if to clear it.

"How I despise that man." She murmured. "How I despise him with every inch of my body...and how he delights in knowing it, too! And to taunt me with mention of Kai - does that mean that my brother is intertwined more deeply than I realised in this? But if it's Uncle's orders, how could he not obey? I thought he was only to spy on the District children, and yet..."

She rubbed her temples.

"I'm tired." She admitted, turning to glance at her maid. "I'm going to go to my room and lie down."

"Yes, Mistress." The girl bowed her head in acknowledgement. "Is there anything I can bring you in the meantime?"

"Just a drink of water will suffice." Midori managed a faint smile. "Unfortunately, Saku, you can't bring to me my freedom."

Saku eyed her for a moment, a sad look in her own dark eyes. Then, very slowly, she nodded her head.

"Yes, Midori-sama." She said softly. "I'll do so right away."

* * *

"It's funny, you know, but ever since you and Ukitake went playing with Hollows in the forest, the whole atmosphere's been weird and different round here, don't you think?"

Thus Enishi as he and Shunsui left the Kidou Arena, making their way along the halls towards the big dining hall before the bell chimed for lunch. The two boys had spent an hour with Kazoe on their practical spell casting, and although he had been a month behind his classmates, Shunsui's natural aptitude for the skill had soon meant he was moving past Enishi's own stuttering progress, casting _shakka-hou_ with confidence. That morning he had even tried a trick shot, aiming to split his spell either side of the target - a tactic which had brought him a fierce scolding from the horrified instructor.

"Different?" He said now, glancing at his fingers and brushing the faint traces of ash from their tips. "How so? We weren't killed. There's no reason to think anything has changed."

"Hrm." Enishi pursed his lips, shaking his head. "You don't fool me, you know, Kyouraku. Kuchiki and Hirata have both said about your reiatsu changing since that night, and I've noticed it too. You're trying to be the same as before, coasting along and whatever - but that girl's death's really bothered you, hasn't it? And since Ukitake was locked up in the Healing Bay, you've suddenly been taking classes seriously. It's weird. I don't know what to think about it. Did Sensei really rip into you that badly, or what?"

"Congratulations, Enishi-kun." Shunsui's lips twitched into a rueful smile as he raised his gaze to the bigger boy's dark eyes. "You're starting to pick things up more quickly - I guess being here is doing you good after all."

"Hey, I'm not an idiot." Enishi protested good-naturedly. "I may be a hulking brute in your eyes, Kyouraku, but I'm not completely oblivious to what goes on around me. I'm not as sensitive to reiatsu as Kuchiki or Hirata, true enough - but I don't need to do that to notice changes. And you're different. And, last night, when I went to see Ukitake, I think he was too. More serious, somehow. Like he was thinking about something very deeply. He didn't tell me what, but I figure it had something to do with Megumi's death too."

"Megumi's been buried, now." Shunsui said evenly. "It bothers me that it might not be resolved, and yes, I'm sad that she's dead. No...angry. Angry that she is. But there's not much I can do to change the fact. So I have to just let it lie."

He smiled sadly.

"As for coming to class and paying attention, it wasn't anything Sensei said, exactly." He reflected. "Though there were a few things I've thought over. He told me this was my last chance, and I'm taking him at his word, because I'm coming to realise I don't really want to be sent home to an angry brother and the threat of an arranged marriage just yet. But it's more...in the forest, I was pretty helpless. Against the Hollow, and then to help Juushirou, too. I couldn't do anything and it bothers me that he probably got hurt worse because of it. And that makes me angriest of all. Because I like Juu-kun. And I don't want my idiocy to be the reason he's ill ever again, if I can help it."

Enishi's expression softened at this.

"You know, he doesn't blame you for anything." He said gently, and Shunsui nodded.

"I know." He agreed. "But I'm not stupid either, sadly. I know what part of it is my bad."

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm not good at all this paying attention stuff." He added. "But I suppose I see a little bit more the point in learning these things."

"Well, you're already running rings around me in Kidou, and you're a month behind the rest of the class." Enishi said ruefully, and Shunsui chuckled.

"_Shakka-hou _is an easy spell, and Juu-kun taught it me, so I'm not ever going to forget it." He said simply. "But its boring, once you've got it down, just doing it the same way every time. Kazoe wasn't amused, was he, when I tried to split it? But I thought it'd be a nice change. And it wasn't like I was really out of control. I was aiming for the adjacent targets - it didn't quite hit perfectly, that's all."

Enishi laughed.

"Kidou is really not my thing." He admitted. "But I hope you'll come to a few more supplementary classes with me, Kyouraku. It's more fun with a friend."

"A lot of things are." Shunsui said wisely. "You have no objections, then, to my tagging along with you people like I have been?"

"I hadn't thought of it as tagging along." Enishi looked surprised. "I figured that you were simply part of the group now - you and Kuchiki, like I said the other day. That conversation seems a year ago now - but it hasn't changed anything. It's Ukitake, after all, isn't it? He's the one who's clever at bringing people together and making them a team. So I just figured it was another sign of that. That's all."

Shunsui's eyes narrowed.

"You are much smarter than you look, that's for sure." He said at length, giving his companion a playful nudge, and Enishi grinned.

"Somehow, when you insult me, it doesn't seem to be as barbed as some people's tongues." He reflected.

"Well, you know I don't mean anything by it." Shunsui said casually. "It's just how I am. Lazy, rude and annoying. You've known me long enough to realise that now."

"You said it. Not me." Enishi reminded him. "Well? Are we heading to the Dining Hall or are we going to go meet Hirata at the Healing Bay? He probably won't mind if he misses the start of lunch, since he's finally got to go see Ukitake on his own - but even so..."

"If he shows up late, he might get scolded." Shunsui sighed. "Maybe we should go get him. Kuchiki can take care of himself, but Hirata's such a delicate little flower, isn't he?"

He laughed.

"You and he couldn't be more different, in fact." He reflected. "You amuse me, you two, with Juushirou in the middle."

"It is an interesting combination, I suppose." Enishi shrugged good-naturedly. "But I'm fond of the little tyke now, too. I don't know - it is like having a little brother or something. Don't you think?"

"Or a well trained lap dog, at times." Shunsui said wryly. "But he is coming out of his shell more. And I like to see it."

"That's Ukitake too, though." Enishi said frankly. "If Kidou is your gift, Shunsui – reaching out to people is his."

"...And that's what it looks like to me. That's all I'm saying."

As they rounded the corner, they encountered two of the students from Class Two, and at the sight of their approach, the taller of the two boys stepped forward, a faint, slightly smug smile on his face. At his expression, Shunsui pursed his lips, taking in the self-satisfied flickering of the other boy's aura.

Onoe Tomoyuki. Shihouin Kai's cousin who had been displaced into the second class by Genryuusai's decision to admit District students to the Academy.

"Hey, Houjou, Kyouraku, good timing." He said now, and the swagger in his affected tones jarred against Shunsui's ears.

_Kai may be arrogant and idiotic, but I'd take him five times a day over one moment with this one. He's as twisted as Aitori - and half as smart. And he really thinks he belongs in Class One instead of Juushirou? He must be deluded._

"Good timing?" He said now. "For what, exactly? The lunch bell is about to chime - surely it would be better timing if we'd reached the door of the Dining Hall...?"

"No, not that." Onoe sounded impatient. "About the Hollow in the forest. Is it true that Ukitake blazed the creature back with some kind of massive reiatsu blast?"

"Why?" Enishi looked surprised. "What does it have to do with you, what Ukitake did or didn't do in the forest? The matter's closed and Sensei's let it drop. It's not nice to gossip about things after the fact."

"Which is why we're asking, Houjou-kun." His companion, Kamitani Jun put in sensibly. "Kyouraku was there, after all. We just want to know what's true and what isn't. Rumours have been flying since that night, after all - lots of them, and they're getting crazier at every step. So we figured, if we asked someone who knew..."

"It's crazy because a kid from the District can't fire reiatsu of the level people are talking about, no matter how 'gifted' he might be." Onoe said frankly. "Don't say it so casually, Kamitani. You're an Urahara. You know that it's scientifically illogical for anyone with below-Clan bloodline to produce the kind of thing people have been saying."

"Yes...maybe." Kamitani said slowly. "But...the fact of it is, Onoe, several of us felt it. I did. Iwai did, too. And so..."

"You're wasting time." Shunsui cut across the conversation, casting Kamitani a benign smile. "And Houjou and I are hungry, so if you're just going to babble among yourselves..."

"Just tell us if it's true or not, that's all." Onoe said curtly, an annoyed look in his golden eyes. "What happened, in the forest, that night?"

"What you heard." Shunsui shrugged. "Juushirou used his spirit power to help me out. And he has a fair amount of it - as you're probably aware."

He grinned, revealing a neat row of perfect white teeth.

"That's why he's in Class One, after all." He said innocently, and Onoe bristled.

"Don't give me that." he said coldly. "Ukitake's District. Like Kira. And Kira's nothing special. But at least he doesn't pretend to be. He ranks second bottom for a reason, after all. It's not possible for a District born brat to rank above the Clans."

"Onoe, give it a rest." Kamitani mumured, but Onoe shook his head.

"No, because I'm right." He said frankly. "They're not the same as us. That's all there is to it."

"I would think that goes in their favour, considering the alternative." Kyouraku murmured. "I'm sorry you find it so hard to understand, Onoe-kun. But there are probably hundreds or thousands more like Juushirou in the Districts waiting to be discovered and trained into being tomorrow's Shinigami. That's the way the world is moving, after all. Juushirou's got as good a chance as any of us to make the grade. Better, maybe, because he doesn't have connections to sit back and rely on. He works hard and he'll earn his place. Whether you like it or not, that's the way things are heading."

"Kyouraku's right." Enishi added at this point. "Just because you didn't get ranked as you'd like it, Onoe, don't give Ukitake stick. It's not him who edged you out, after all. It was me and my Ouyoudou. You know it as well as I do - that our marks were the same but my practical skills were better than yours. If you want to take it up with someone, take it up with me. But leave Ukitake out of it. He's where he deserves to be."

"This is pointless." Kamitani sighed, shaking his head. "Onoe, I'm going on ahead. I promised Iwai I'd meet him beforehand and we've no time left - he's already going to be wondering where I am. Do the smart thing and give it a rest, huh? However you feel about Ukitake, it's not going to achieve anything if you badger his friends."

He bowed his head apologetically in the direction of his companions, then disappeared down the hallway towards the Dining Hall, and Shunsui clicked his tongue pensively.

"That's an Urahara for you." he reflected. "Sizing up the situation and realising when it's wisest to withdraw. You should follow your friend's advice, Onoe-kun. He's smarter than you, after all."

"My rank is at the top of Class Two, thank you very much." Onoe said stiffly. "That makes me tenth in the year overall, whilst Kamitani is thirteenth. And I at least have a rank. _You_, on the other hand..."

"Kyouraku's ranking is none of your business." Enishi said quickly, but Shunsui chuckled, holding up his hands.

"You wouldn't believe me, even if I told you I had a rank - at least in the very beginning." He said casually. "Besides, I don't want to argue this out with you. I answered your question - can we please go to lunch now?"

"No. Not yet." Onoe's eyes narrowed, and Shunsui saw the tension rippling through his young frame. "I want to know, you see, what the truth is. You're his friend - his dorm-mate. You must know. You must have worked out his secrets - you must know how he's doing it."

"How who's doing what?" Enishi blinked, and Onoe sighed, exasperation in his golden eyes.

"Ukitake! How he's scoring so highly, of course!"

"Genetic talent, I guess." Shunsui shrugged. "Who knows how the Gods work? Come on, Houjou - this isn't worth our time."

"No kidding." Enishi agreed, but Onoe thrust out a hand, blocking their path as he did so.

"You might think you're being clever, protecting him." He hissed. "But I know what's going on and I'll prove it too, you'll see."

"What's...going on?" Shunsui frowned, eying the boy curiously. "What do you mean, what's going on?"

"I know that Minabe-sensei went running round the local town asking questions about that girl. That dead girl...the one you and Ukitake knew." Onoe said coldly. "I know all about that...even though you're not supposed to talk about it. And I know what kind of a girl she was, too. The rumours are rife, after all, in Class Two. Iwai told us all about it - how that drug-spaced wench turned up here and dragged you out into the wilderness. I'm not foolish. I can put the pieces together. I know about the dead girl and I know what's going on."

"Well, I'm glad you do, because I'm starting to think I need a crib sheet to figure all that out." Shunsui looked foxed. "For a start, you've got your girls mixed up - the girl who came here wasn't the girl who died in the forest. Secondly, if Sensei finds out you're talking about that freely like this, you'll be in trouble. He doesn't want it spread round the halls. And third, why you know what Minabe-sensei's been up to is beyond me. Do you have some kind of crush on her or something, that you go trailing her on your days off?"

"Don't be stupid!" Onoe reacted, his cheeks flushing red at his companion's insinuation. "But word spreads. People hear things and tell people. That's all."

"Well, they don't tell you anything very useful, if you ask me." Enishi said bluntly. "If all they spew at you is gossipy nonsense about people that aren't anything to do with you."

"You're avoiding the point, but I won't be distracted that easily." Onoe said acidly. "I _know_ Ukitake's not what he claims to be. I know it's impossible. I know he's using those drugs too, somehow. Illicit chemicals, like those whores from the town."

Shunsui's eyes widened, but before he could respond, Enishi had reacted, grasping Onoe by the collar of his _hakama_ and hauling him physically up off the floor.

"_What_ did you just say?" He demanded, his tone suddenly lacking in all it's genial warmth, and Shunsui bit his lip, reading for the first time the pulse of the warrior in his big friend's aura.

"Struck a nerve, did I?" Onoe somehow managed to keep his composure, even though his legs were dangling free beneath him. "Let me go, you great, ungainly ape. All you're doing is confirming things, reacting like that."

"I'm doing no such thing." Enishi shook the boy firmly, dropping him down against the wall and advancing on him, a definite, uncharacteristic menace in his approach. "I'm just not going to stand back and listen to you abuse Ukitake's name any more. It's bad enough that you're enough of a snob you can't see him for what or who he is. But when you start bringing those chemicals into it...do you even understand what you're saying, you stupid boy? Those drugs destroyed so many lives in all of our families two or three generations ago. Do you really think that anyone in this day and age would be foolish enough to dabble in them?"

"Maybe not Clan." Onoe righted himself, shifting his position as he prepared to defend himself against a second attack. "But Ukitake's District. He's base-born, just like those girls. And more, it's the only thing that adds up. I've heard, you see. I know how he's been throwing up blood and all of that - and how he's sickly and weak and always running a fever for no apparent reason. Well, I've got the reason. It's right there, so open your eyes. You might not be the smartest kid in the Yamamoto-ke, but considering Yamamoto-sensei is your kin, you ought to be able to reason that out, at the very least."

"Why you little..." Enishi's eyes narrowed, and he swung his fist, clattering it against Onoe's nose and sending the boy tumbling backwards once more. Shunsui watched with a detached kind of interest as blood spurted from the wound, and Onoe let out a cry of pain and indignation, clutching his left hand to his face as he glowered at his opponent with as much venom as he could muster.

"Ukitake Juushirou is not the kind of person who cheats, or lies." Enishi's voice shook, but Shunsui could tell it was anger, not emotion making his friend's tones unsteady. "He's the kind of person who looks for the good in people, and puts his faith in them. He's straight forward. Honest. And he'd _never_ do the things you're suggesting. I won't stand for it, Onoe. Take it back, else the next hit will smash your nose into next week."

He flexed and curled his fist again.

"I'm game to show you just why I have superior physical skills to you, if you want me to." He added, his tones carrying a dangerous edge. "So take it back. Take it back now. Or else."

"I guess it's true, after all. You are so blind to reiatsu that you can't even tell when your close friend is duping you." Onoe taunted, and Enishi bristled once more.

"It's not about reiatsu." He snapped back, preparing to launch back into the fight. "It's about trust and knowing what's right!"

Shunsui began to wonder whether he ought to intervene, for although he was as angry as his companion about Onoe's insinuations, he realised that the fight was not evenly matched, and Onoe would probably wind up getting badly hurt if it continued. Yet before he could do anything, someone else had come into the confrontation, forcibly parting the two combatants with an exclamation of annoyance.

For a moment no one moved, as the students struggled to understand what had just happened. Then, at last, Shunsui found his voice.

"Shihouin-kun." He murmured, and inwardly he tensed, knowing that if it became a two-on-one fight he would have no choice but to get involved and forcibly extract Enishi from the conflict. Yet Kai did not seem inclined to spring to his cousin's defence. Instead, he hauled the boy back, sending him a glare.

"Have you been spouting useless stuff in public places again?" He snapped, a definite edge to his tone, and Onoe glared at him from above the top of his blood-stained hand.

"I told you once already today. Shut your mouth." Kai did not wait for a response. "And _don't_ start rumours you have no way of controlling. Do you understand me? Stop it. Now. If you start this again, _I'll _be the one dealing with it."

"Shihouin?" Something in his classmate's frantic, troubled tones seemed to bring Enishi back to himself, and he faltered, lowering his fist as he stared from Kai to Onoe and back again. "What..."

"You're an idiot, Houjou." Kai said scathingly. "Blooding your fists so easily over a District boy's honour."

"I won't have things said about my friends that aren't true." Enishi's brows knitted together. "Onoe said that Ukitake was cheating and breaking Seireitei law and I won't have that."

"He won't be saying it again." Kai said frankly, sending his cousin another dark glare. "So you can stop acting like a crazed animal that someone just let out of its cage. It's a rumour. That's all. If you know it's not true, don't bother about it. And it will go away all the more quickly."

"It's _not_ true." Shunsui said gravely. "Even if Juushirou's reiatsu is unusual by District standards, it's all his own. Is that why you intervened, Kai-kun? Because you don't want your cousin to get into trouble with Sensei for spreading lies about his top District student?"

"Don't patronise me." Kai bristled. "I stopped the fight, which is more than you did. Public brawls are beneath Shihouin pride. That's all."

"Unfortunately, Shihouin, you didn't stop the fight quickly enough."

At that moment, Kazoe's voice came from behind them, and the four youngsters turned, each one staring in apprehension at their Kidou master's stern expression.

"Houjou and Onoe, I believe you have an appointment with Genryuusai-sensei." He said quietly, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses. "Where you can explain to him why two Noble sons were scrapping in the halls."

"...Yes Sensei." Enishi bit his lip, and Kazoe sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't know what caused this, but I suggest whatever it is is left alone, if it's going to cause such heated feelings." He added. "Shihouin, Kyouraku - you run along and get your meal. In case you hadn't heard it, the bell has rung for lunch. Leave Houjou and Onoe to me...unless you fancy facing Genryuusai-sensei as well."

"It's all right, Kyouraku. Go and tell Hirata and Kuchiki what's happened." Enishi's eyes were still prickling with anger, even though his expression was one of consternation, and Shunsui nodded.

"All right. I will." He agreed. "Speak nicely to your kinsman, Enishi-kun - and hope he's in a good mood!"

With that he hurried off along the hall, inwardly feeling a little guilty for not having intervened sooner.

_I didn't even sense Kazoe coming, which wasn't like me. And I don't usually endorse fighting. But Onoe made me angry, too. And if Enishi hadn't hit him..._

He bit his lip.

_Would I have done? Would I have hit him, for saying things like that about Juu? Maybe I would. _

He sighed, running his fingers through his cropped, messy hair.

_More importantly, though - what exactly was Shihouin's motivation just then? He's got no interest in defending Juushirou. So why did he glare at Onoe like that? There's more to it, surely, than simple Clan pride and a fight in the halls. The Shihouin are a shadow Clan, after all. Assassins. So what?_

His eyes narrowed as he ran his mind over the conversation once again.

_Maybe...that's it. _

He sighed, pushing back the divide and slipping into the Dining Room, his gaze automatically picking out Hirata and Ryuu hunched over their plates at the far table.

_I'll talk to Juu about it - if I can - when he's well enough not to want to jeopardise his recovery by running to Houjou's rescue. I'd like to see what he thinks. But it almost seems as though...Shihouin really didn't want that rumour to be spread. And what did he mean - don't start a rumour you can't control? Is there more to why Onoe had all this information in the first place than just spying on Minabe and picking Iwai's brains? I wonder. But it's something to think about. And, maybe, a half-step forward - into whatever it is we're heading._

-----------------------

**_Author's Note_**

_At last, Midori is in the story! Cookies to anyone who realised the mention of her engagement was significant up to this point :)  
Also, the reintroduction of a character from the prequel. Now people know why she didn't die there! More cookies for anyone who can work out her significance in all of this as well (and the clue is it has NOTHING to do with Shunsui after all!)_

_**~TB vs CF  
**I'm commenting on this simply because 'Anon''s review idea interested me._

_In all truth, I'm not trying to _officially_ diagnose Juushirou because I've no scientific background to make me knowledgeable enough to do so. However, all I do know is from the linguistic perspective - Kubo-sensei calls Juushirou's disease Haibyou and Haibyou is translated literally as lung sickness but that particular term is also used in Japanese for pulmonary tuberculosis. Sadly - though I did look it up - Cystic Fibrosis isn't in my Japanese dictonary so I'm none the wiser as to how that is classified in Japanese._

_Without knowing that, I wouldn't like to speculate on any other condition (though it does tweak at the curiosity) and am therefore working entirely with what little information the creator has given. I personally think CF is less likely than TB, but I agree there are elements of TB that do not match up exactly to Juushirou's condition. (This may, however, simply be artistic license - haibyou may combine the symptoms of more than one disease into something unique to Juu's character)._

_In this story, I have generally referred to the disease as 'haibyou'. That is, after all, the only official diagnosis of Juu's that Kubo-sensei has given us to work with. But I have used the other terms such as 'white plague' and so on because a lot of fans do feel that TB is his likely diagnosis - and even if it isn't exact, it carries enough resonance with me and with them to continue to utilise those terms ;)_

_Thank you for the interesting thinking point, 'anon' ;)_


	16. Empathy

**Chapter Fifteen: Empathy**

_That stupid, braindead fool._

Kai sank down onto his bed, flopping back onto his blankets as he re-ran in his mind the confrontation he had walked into. Although Kazoe had sent him to get his lunch, he felt sickened and on edge, and he knew that the last thing he wanted was to face his inquisitive classmates when he knew his own composure was far from settled.

Onoe had been foolish and brazen, voicing such concerns in a public place. Yet it was the deep unease that gnawed away at the core of his soul which concerned Kai the most.

Onoe was skilled and deft, and certainly able to act in the name of the Shihouin-ke without hesitation or regret. Yet he was not as smart or intuitive as his second cousin was…and Kai could not help thinking that somehow, outside manipulation had played a part.

_Seimaru said it, didn't he? That if a rumour was started about Ukitake's abilities being chemical induced, it would discredit District students. I refused to do it, because of it drawing attention to Father and what his scientists are working on. But Seimaru dismissed it far too easily, in the end. And I wonder if this is why. I wonder if he'd already thought that where I might not be of use that way, Tomoyuki might._

He sighed, rubbing his temples.

_Whether the idiot even realises the risk to his Clan by saying such things, God only knows. When he asked me about it this morning, before breakfast, I thought I'd at least made it clear I wasn't interested in his theories about Ukitake's ridiculous reiatsu. But I guess I was wrong. He's always been the kind to grab onto something and twist it up until he can't let it go. He believes Ukitake took his place in Class One, so therefore Ukitake's fair game. And it's not his father who's Uncle's chief when it comes to secret research projects. He probably doesn't care about any of that…if he's even seen the connection at all._

_Then again, he's Aitori's nephew. And even if Tomoyuki didn't see the link, there's no way that someone as sly and slick as Aitori could have missed it. _

_Which means..._

He sighed, gazing up at the ceiling, as he remembered the gravity and strain on his Father's face the last time they'd met. Midori betrothed. Him seconded as a spy. His brother an assistant in the laboratory proceedings. And the man's own work, as given him by the head of his Clan, suddenly the bartering tool in a new and frightening alliance.

Dabbling in banned substances despite a Council interdict was a crime punishable by death, even for one who was essentially the Shihouin-ke's second in command in many things. And since Kai's own mother had died, six years earlier, the work his Father had done for the Clan had more or less become his life – his comfort, his reason for going on, and his obsession.

It was his Uncle's obsession, too, he reflected miserably, remembering the troubled times that had plagued the Clan in the past. Although his Uncle had originally had three children, two of them had been killed carrying out missions for the family, and the surviving son, a boy of twelve, was healthy in body but weak in spiritual power. Though the family had acknowledged him, Kai had understood very quickly that this boy would soon be superceded if it came to a battle of superiority among Clansmen. The Shihouin's civil war could easily start again – and for that reason, his Uncle had continued the Clan's habit of shielding exiled scientists, putting great emphasis on continuing their work. It was all for the protection of his son, in the end - for the secure future of the Shihouin.

Kai had also often suspected that his Uncle's own disdain for him stemmed from the same source – for though his cousin, Father, brother and sister all preceded him in line to the Clan leadership, it was well known that Kai's reiatsu was naturally a good deal higher than any of the other males of his generation. In fact, it was only his revered sister Midori whose spiritual ability superceded his own – and even when his elder cousins had been alive, that had still been the case.

_I have no wish to take over the Clan, though, or act as any kind of rebel against Uncle's authority. _

He sighed.

_It just bothers me, that's all. The idea that Father's putting his life and reputation on the line because Uncle's heir isn't fit to wear the Shihouin _haori _without supplementing his power with illegal chemicals. And to make it worse…Ukitake…  
_  
He closed his eyes, letting out his breath in a rush. He too had felt the reiatsu flare, after all. And no matter how much it hurt his pride to admit to it, he knew the boy was genuinely powerful.

_Strong, intelligent and brave. Shinigami material in District cloaking. Times _are_ changing – and at this rate, is our Clan even going to survive those changes? Aitori says we're using the Endou, but I don't believe it's that simple. We seem to be the ones being used – the ones thrown into the line of fire. And what about the Endou-ke's ultimate plan? Have they dazzled Uncle enough with their contributions to our chemical research to make him give such an unreasonable, unbelievable final command?_

He clenched and unclenched his fists slowly.

_Whatever the cause, whichever Clan spills the blood of one like Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama, those stains will never ever be removed. And if it's the Shihouin who have to carry out such a dirty task – even to protect the Old Order, will it mean the complete annihilation of our Clan?_

* * *

"Evening, soldier! Sorry to interrupt your dinner – looks like the Healing Bay served up late this evening!"

Juushirou glanced up from his meal, setting down his chopsticks as he cast Shunsui a warm grin. It was that same evening, with the sun just beginning to set over the mountainous First District landscape beyond the walls of the old Yamamoto manor house. It had been a bright, gentle day, interspersed by visits from his classmates and rounds of Retsu's vigorous Kidou treatment, and as a result Juushirou was feeling much more like his usual self.

"No, I'm just finishing second helpings, that's all." He said good-naturedly now, setting the tray aside and folding his hands in his lap. "What brings you here at this time, anyway? Not that I mind the company, but even so…"

"Evening is much more my natural time of day than morning." Shunsui said simply, dropping down with a sigh on the side of his companion's bunk. "Second helpings, hmm? I guess that's proof positive there's not much wrong with you now!"

He winked.

"_Some_ might call it malingering, in fact."

"Yes, except that it's me, and not you." Juushirou said composedly, and Shunsui chuckled, nodding his head.

"Touche." He agreed. "You're really not the malingering type, are you, Juushirou-chan?"

"Juushirou-chan, now?" Juushirou eyed him quizzically, and Shunsui shrugged.

"Whatever seems right at the time." He said casually. "Still, there's nothing wrong with your appetite, that's for sure. You might be thin as a stick, Juu-kun, but you certainly aren't shy with your food, even when you're sick!"

"Mm." Juushirou looked sheepish. "My family always tease me about that, too. The first day after an attack, they can never coax me to eat because my throat is too raw to swallow without choking. But after that, my appetite gets the better of me. Anika usually brings _umeboshi_ back from the market and makes me _o-chazuke_ with them as the topping…and that usually does the trick. Though I'll eat anything I'm given, usually, _umeboshi-chazuke_ is the only thing I'll never turn down, no matter how ill I'm feeling."

"_Umeboshi_, huh." Shunsui looked amused. "I'll remember that, whenever I need to bribe you for your brains or your help in the future."

"I don't come cheaply." Juushirou bantered back. "So you'll have to make it worth my while."

Shunsui laughed, nodding his head.

"Somehow coming to see you, even knowing I helped put you here, really does make my mind easier." He reflected pensively, and Juushirou looked surprised.

"Really?"

"I guess its something calming in your aura." Shunsui nodded, a playful glitter in his gaze. "But I'm being serious. It's a feeling of…I don't know. Of having an ally, no matter what's going on…one I can trust in no matter what."

Juushirou's expression softened.

"Something's bothering you?" He asked gently, and Shunsui shrugged his shoulders.

"A lot of things." He reflected. "I have this habit, it seems, of doing nothing until after the fact - until it's too late_ to_ do anything, right or wrong. I've been thinking today that maybe that's not such a good habit to have – what do you think?"

"I think its a bit random, to just wake up and decide something like that after seventeen and a half years." Juushirou said honestly. "Did something in particular happen to spark this feeling, or…?"

"Mm, I suppose it's a culmination of a few things." Shunsui looked uncharacteristically serious. "It's not that I don't realise what I do or don't do has a knock-on effect on those around me. I've just been seeing it more clearly lately, that's all. It's not really much fun, if you want the truth. For the past year I've barely thought about anything like that. Now it seems to be dogging me more and more –with Megumi's death, and you being here, and…I don't know."

He shrugged, grinning suddenly, and the sober moment was gone.

"In any case, it's mine to agonise about, and I won't bring you down with it." He continued. "I really came to compare notes with you a little, to tell you the truth. Since I saw Unohana-san leaving here a little while ago – and I suppose no one's due to come and poke you in the meantime?"

"Probably not until its time for lights out." Juushirou shook his head. "Unohana-sensei's been in each night then to see me and take my temperature and so on – but she's left me to read, mostly, after dinner."

"A pretty nurse to come and see you to bed." Shunsui sighed enviously, and Juushirou swatted at his arm in irritation.

"Stop it. I've already told you, I'm not interested in her like that. Besides, she's not a nurse. She's a Kidou expert and a Clan Leader, don't forget. She's not someone you want to offend or mess with."

"Yes, sir." Shunsui saluted sharply, then he sighed. "Okay. So it's just you and me here, then, for now?"

"Unless anyone else drops in on us in the meantime, I imagine so." Juushirou settled himself more comfortably against his pillows. "Talk softly, Shunsui, and then no one will hear anything you say."

"All right." Shunsui obediently muted his tones to match his companion's hoarser ones. "How's this?"

"Better, though you sound like you've swallowed a frog." Juushirou stifled a smile, and Shunsui glared at him indignantly.

"That's rich, coming from you!" He returned indignantly, and Juushirou laughed, nodding his head.

"True." He acknowledged good-naturedly. "All right. I'm sorry. What is it, anyway? Something to do with Megumi-san's death? You said when you came to see me before that there were things you hadn't told to Genryuusai-sensei. Is that why you're here now?"

"Sort of." Shunsui nodded. "I just wondered whether you remembered, that's all. When we were in the tavern that night, whose patrol it was that Megumi told us was coming into the town?"

"Aitori-sensei's." Juushirou said immediately, his brows knitting together at the memory. "Because you said we had to slip back quickly so he didn't see me and use it as an excuse to make my life difficult. Didn't you?"

"Yes." Shunsui agreed. "Then do you remember what Megumi said about him, too?"

Juushirou pursed his lips.

"That she remembered people who paid her and she remembered those who didn't." He responded slowly, then his eyes widened. "Aitori-sensei owed her money? Good grief, Shunsui, are you trying to suggest that _Aitori-sensei _was the one who killed her?"

"Kyouko said that she owed someone money, didn't she?" Shunsui shrugged. "But no. I _know _Aitori wasn't the one who slashed her, Juu – his reiatsu was nowhere near the scene and Yama-jii said himself that all the Shihouin in District One were accounted for that night with witnesses aplenty. Aitori, Kai and that Onoe brat were all helping Aitori sort out his office, apparently, with a Kuchiki and some other trustworthy companions as convenient witnesses. However…"

"You think he might still have been involved?"

Juushirou looked alarmed, and Shunsui sighed.

"I don't want to freak you out too much, but this isn't an unusual state of affairs where Clan politics are concerned." He said evenly. "Trust me on that one, okay? It's perfectly possible that any or all of the Clans – mine even included, if you like – could stoop to doing such a thing if it was a matter of protecting their honour. So putting that into context for a while, it's not unthinkable that a teacher like Aitori could be ordered to do something on his Clan's behalf. Except, of course, that Aitori _didn't _kill her. He was here. And though it _looked_ like a Shihouin killed her – the wound was messy and the body was found. This is what's bugging me, I think, about it being not what it seems. The only way a Shihouin assassin would make such a blatant show of his crime would be to make a particular point about it – and I don't see what the point of this one would be."

He sighed again.

"Maybe I'm reading too many levels into a simple hit for hire, because I wasn't able to save her." He admitted honestly. "But even if that is it, it still bothers me. I really don't think she was killed by a Shihouin. I think it was just made up to look like she was."

"So it has nothing to do with Aitori-sensei and his money, after all?" Juushirou looked bewildered, and Shunsui pulled a face.

"That's the bit I'm having trouble with." He admitted. "Something else happened this afternoon that I'm trying to make sense of, and when I do, I'll see what you think, too. But it bothers me that Aitori owed Megumi money, and then she was killed because she was owed money. It makes me wonder what Aitori was paying her to do. And if it wasn't sexual favours, what _was_ it connected to? Kyouko didn't know what it was about either, and I think she'd have known if it was for Megumi's feminine charms in the bedroom. But she thought it was something else going on, and it seems too convenient that _two _people haven't paid her two gold coins in a short space of time."

"_You_ were one, too." Juushirou reminded him, and Shunsui nodded.

"I know. But I hope you consider me out of the equation." He said lightly, a faint smile on his lips. "Even if I _did _find the body. Besides, I may not have actively paid it to her in person, but thanks to you my promise to her_ was_ kept - does that make me off the hook?"

"Silly. I wasn't meaning that." Juushirou shook his head, a smile touching his own lips. "Just that it's not impossible in this area with so many Clan kids to have others owing amounts. And it's a lot of money to me, two gold coins, but I guess for some Clan folk it really isn't."

"Still, its the exactness of the amount, too." Shunsui shrugged. "What you say is true, but it still...maybe I'm grasping hopelessly at straws, but I can't stop thinking that it connects to something important."

"And you think Shihouin-kun is involved too, don't you?"

"If Aitori is, Shihouin almost certainly is." Shunsui agreed. "And maybe Onoe, too. But if he was paying her, but didn't kill her…"

"Maybe the Shihouin are targets, too?" Juushirou murmured. "And their Clan is being set up by someone else to take the fall for something bigger – something we haven't seen yet?"

"Mm." Shunsui looked troubled. "I rather worry about what that has to do with you, too."

"With me?"

"Yes." Shunsui agreed, and Juushirou sighed.

"I'm not going to focus on this whole conspiracy against me theory." He said at length. "Right now, it doesn't seem like I matter as much as you think I do in any of what you've just said. For the time being, Megumi-san is what you wanted to resolve, wasn't it? We know she was murdered. We know her body was dumped in the forest. And we know Aitori-sensei didn't kill her. So who did?"

"I think the idea was for her to be killed by the Hollow we played games with." Shunsui said honestly. "But she fought too hard and they had to do away with her before they could draw it to where she was. There was a flurry of reiatsu near her body – but none of them were significant or familiar to me in any way, so that was no help. If anyone more powerful was involved, they didn't reveal themselves in that way."

"Kyouko-san said that the person who led the party to snare them was fair-skinned, with dark hair and pale eyes. Maybe in his twenties." Juushirou remembered carefully. "Didn't she?"

"Which also counts out the Shihouin." Shunsui agreed. "For obvious reasons."

He grimaced.

"Kyouko said that Megumi knew him but she didn't. So whoever it was she'd dealt with directly before, about whatever it was that got her killed." He murmured. "If Oniisama finds Kyouko, she might be able to identify who it was if she saw him again. But that being the case, they may track her down and they might still get to her before Tokutarou-nii's men. I don't know if she'd trust Clansfolk in a strange District, after all, just on my say-so. And she's vulnerable. She's involved with chemicals that she can't get in Eighth District."

"She shouldn't be able to get them _here_." Juushirou said frankly, and Shunsui's eyes widened.

"No, she shouldn't." he murmured. "You're right. District One are as strong on the ban as any other – in fact, the Yamamoto-ke seem very against them. Houjou-kun's reaction on the subject too – it's as though they hate the idea _more_ than any other Clan, if I'm truthful about it. Yet it's here, in that town, that this trade is so prevalent. That's significant, isn't it? It's unusual. I bet there's nowhere else in District One that you'd find it so easy to get those kinds of things."

"Meaning someone is shipping them in?" Juushirou questioned, and Shunsui nodded.

"Because it's exactly like you said. Right here there's a school." He said grimly. "Where people travel, above suspicion, from all over Seireitei. Whichever district these chemicals are coming from, they're connected to this place in some way for sure. That's how they're getting into District One. And it about proves that it's Clan related, too. Because whoever's doing it has been doing it since before we were here. Megumi and her friends are known to our senpai, after all. That implies that it's been going on at least a year before we came here. All the students before this year were Clan. So that means one of the Clans is involved in illicit chemical dealing."

"Find the Clan and we find Megumi-san's killer, you mean." Juushirou looked grave. "But why would_ they_ owe _Megumi-san_ money? Surely she was acquiring the chemicals, not selling them...?"

"Perhaps they were part of her pay-off." Shunsui said grimly. "Maybe it wasn't all in coin."

"Maybe." Juushirou bit his lip. "But even if its true, going after those people would be dangerous, surely? If they killed her over it…"

"I still have a feeling it's the tip of some horrendous iceberg, but it's as good as we've got for now." Shunsui said sadly. "We don't even know which chemical it is. If we knew more about that, we might be able to work out what it's made of and where it's coming from. But right now we know nothing. I don't even know the names of most of these things. Just that they existed and they killed people. That's all."

"Could we find that kind of thing out?"

"It might be possible there's something in the school library archives about the experiments and so on." Shunsui acknowledged. "If we fancied digging through a bunch of dusty books."

"Meaning you want _me_ to do that part, I suppose?" Juushirou grimaced at him. "Fine. When I'm set loose from here, I'll see what I can discover on that subject."

"Thank you." Shunsui grinned. "That might be a dead end but it might not be. I know it seems stupid, Juu, but it really matters to me that Megumi isn't just forgotten. This time I don't want to do nothing at all, even if I was too late to save her. This time I want to do something about it, even if it's just uncovering the truth of her death."

"And I already said that I'd help." Juushirou responded evenly. "So that's decided. Reading is something I'm good at, and I feel happier doing that than charging into battle unprepared with Clanfolk unknown at the moment."

"Which leaves us with the person who took Megumi from her home." Shunsui said evenly. "And I guess that's my job, for now. But there are a lot more dark haired people with pale eyes in Seireitei, sadly, than there are dark skinned ones with gold eyes. She didn't even specify what colour eyes, just that they were pale. Narrowing down who Kyouko saw to a particular individual is going to be a nightmare from start to finish. Minabe-sensei's apparently been doing Yama-jii's dirty work asking questions in the town, but hasn't found anything more out that way, and if it's Clan related then they'll have closed up shop and she won't. Not even if she threatens people. So…right now it's a dead end, even so. I can't see that I'll discover anything without going to the town myself, but I'm not sure if I'm still under interdict. I guess I'll have to do some more thinking around that one."

"Anideshi has pale eyes." Juushirou reflected, and Shunsui snorted.

"And _blond_ hair. Are you colour-blind?" He demanded. "Besides, do you think Anideshi is that kind of person?"

"No…" Juushirou shook his head. "But it just struck me, when you said it. Anideshi _does_ have fair hair, true, and so does Kamitani-kun in Class Two. But…those chemicals were an Urahara experiment in the first place, weren't they? And the Urahara's pale eyes are quite distinctive – like Kuchiki-kun's grey ones or Shihouin-kun's gold ones – they're a Clan trait. And being distinctive, Kyouko-san may not have been able to define a colour. Just that they were pale. It's not like Hirata's, for example. They're pale but they're definitely pale blue. Anideshi's, on the other hand...and it seems to me, even from my limited experience of all this, that _most_ Clansfolk, whatever their family name, bear striking features in common from person to person."

"A sign of all that lovely inbreeding, no doubt." Shunsui said ruefully. "Though I see your point. If there was a member of the Urahara-ke with dark hair and pale eyes, that might be unusual enough to stand out. And something to go on, too."

"Exactly." Juushirou looked triumphant. "I don't know whether the Urahara-ke would do anything like this, so that you'll have to tell me. But at least it's something."

He looked sheepish.

"I really _do_ feel like your partner in crime, now." He added. "Discussing these things in a hushed voice as though the fate of the world rested on it."

"Maybe it does, in a way." Shunsui reflected absently. "We might as well stop now, though. It seems you're going to have other visitors in a moment or two."

"Other..." Juushirou frowned, casting his companion a surprised look. "More people coming to wish me well?"

"Guess so. Can't you sense them? It's Sora and Mitsuki-chan and they're heading this way."

"Till I'm healed, I'm not even trying to use my senses." Juushirou said ruefully. "I'll just take your word for it that it's the case."

"Sora I can understand, since she's always poking her nose into everything and I'm pretty sure she considers you one of her extended buddy bunch now." Shunsui reflected. "But why Mitsuki, too? That's an interesting development if ever there was one."

He eyed Juushirou keenly.

"Is that why you're so adamantly not interested in Unohana-san? Because you're secretly intertwined in a forbidden love affair with Mitsuki-chan?"

"_What?_" Juushirou stared, then shook his head. "Don't be stupid! I told you already...stop teasing me, Shunsui!"

"Well, there must be a reason why she's come all the way to see you." Shunsui said innocently. "Don't you think so?"

"Edogawa-san is just like that, I suppose. She's sensitive, and I've noticed that she's always worried if someone seems ill or out of sorts." Juushirou said frankly. "Stop putting love story spin on everything for a moment and see things rationally, okay? She's as self-conscious as Hirata, in her own way, and if you start saying stupid things like that when she's here you'll probably upset her. Or scare her. Or both."

"Relax. My nonsense theories are for your ears only, for now." Shunsui said blithely. "But she's a pretty girl too, Mitsuki-chan. You shouldn't forget that fact, all right?"

Before Juushirou could respond, the wooden divide slid back to reveal the two girls, Sora bounding forward almost as soon as she saw them.

"Shunsui! _You're_ here too?"

"Didn't you sense me? I'm hurt, Sora-chan." Shunsui got to his feet, bowing his head mock-politely towards her, and she grimaced, shoving him out of the way.

"We came to see Juushirou, not you – so shift over, will you? There's room for more than one if you don't lounge all over the place."

She turned, beckoning to Mitsuki who had hesitated uncertainly in the doorway, and Juushirou offered her a smile, gesturing for her to join them.

"It's all right, Edogawa-san. You're quite welcome to come in."

Mitsuki offered him a shy smile, nodding and moving closer to the bed. In her hand she carried a small vial, which she set down carefully on the beside unit.

"I'm sorry if we're disturbing you, Ukitake-kun – only I wanted to bring you this." She said, in her soft, gentle tones. "It's an old remedy my nurse used to make for me whenever I had a bad throat or a cough and I thought it might help in some way."

"A remedy?" Juushirou scooped it up, glancing at her in surprise, and Shunsui snorted.

"That's not very gracious." He scolded. "Edogawa-san went to all the trouble of bringing it here personally, too, and all you can do is stare at her? For shame, Juu-kun! We need to work on your manners, if that's the best you can do!"

Mitsuki blushed furiously at this, holding up her hands as she hurriedly shook her head.

"No! It…it's all right, I just…it was…"

"Shunsui's right." Juushirou looked sheepish. "I'm sorry, Edogawa-san. And I'm grateful. I just didn't expect it, that's all."

"It's made from jasmine and other herbs. Mitsuki made it herself." Sora added. "She's really good at those things, you know."

She held up her arm, indicating a healing scrape across her elbow.

"I got caught on a tree branch yesterday morning and it was gushing blood everywhere." She explained cheerfully. "I didn't want to bother the Healing Bay, though, not with them still patching you up. So Mitsuki gave me a herbal poultice to put on it. The blood and pain stopped almost straight away and you can see that it's already started to mend. So if she says that remedy will help you, Juushirou, it probably will."

"It _is _only herbs, though." Mitsuki added, her cheeks still pink from Sora's casual praise. "It's not a cure, it's only a soothing remedy. Retsu-sama might not like you to have it, I suppose – but even so, I…"

"I'll ask her, but I'm sure she won't mind. Not if it's just herbs." Juushirou told her gently. "Thank you, Edogawa-san. I appreciate the thought."

"It's nothing." Mitsuki glanced at her hands. "I just wanted to try and help. I could feel it, you see. In your aura. That you were hurting…and I don't like feeling people's pain."

"Mitsuki…" Shunsui shot the girl a look of surprise, and Sora slipped a reassuring arm around her shoulders.

"Mitsuki's sensitive. She's a Kuchiki, after all, so she senses things really easily, even if they're faint." She explained. "And she's been worrying about Juushirou since you idiot boys came back from the mountain. It's disturbed her sleep these last couple of evenings with nightmares and so on, so today we decided that it would be better if we came here and saw him."

"I…gave you…nightmares?" Juushirou stared, and Shunsui let out a low chuckle.

"You really do have zero skill with women, don't you?" He said, amused, and Juushirou reddened, casting him an annoyed glare.

"_Shunsui_! It's not funny! If my reiatsu's flaring enough that it's upsetting the people I live with…"

"No, I think Mitsuki-chan's a special case." Shunsui shook his head, his eyes becoming serious. "I've heard of it, in the past – empaths whose spiritual power tunes in to the suffering of others. Only most of them are born in the Unohana-ke. I doubt Kuchiki, with all his heightened senses and all his latent fondness for you would be driven to nightmares by something like this."

"Is that right, Edogawa-san?" Juushirou asked, and slowly Mitsuki nodded her head.

"It's often happened in the past." She said quietly. "I'm aware of things like that. And when I am, I want to help…somehow. Because it's terrible when someone's in pain and you can't do anything to stop it."

Juushirou's eyes softened.

"I'm sorry I've caused you such worry, then." He said gently. "I didn't mean to. Really, I'm all right – I'm stronger than I look, and I'm used to fighting against this disease. I was born with it, after all – it's my constant companion for better or for worse."

"I know." Mitsuki nodded, meeting his gaze with her grey one. "I felt it when I first met you. That your spirit was strong but your body was somehow broken."

Her eyes widened in dismay as she realised what she'd said.

"I…I don't mean…broken as in…"

"It's okay. It's the truth, really." Juushirou said dismissively. "But you don't need to worry about me any more. I'll bounce back, you see, no matter what it throws at me. I told my family before I left District Six and I've told myself hundreds of times that I'm not ready to die just yet. So long as I feel like that, I won't lose to this. So you don't need to have any more nightmares, Edogawa-san. I'm not suffering, not really – not in the big picture of things."

"There speaks the brave, wounded soldier." Shunsui intoned gravely, breaking the serious atmosphere with his low, deadpan tones, and Sora laughed.

"Of course, too many long visits by this idiot might make you change your mind about wanting to live." She observed dryly, and Juushirou grinned.

"I'm pretty sure I'm up to it." He assured her.

"There was something else we wanted to ask, too." Sora glanced at Shunsui for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess it's okay that you're here too, though I was hoping to ask Juushirou because he's smart at least and he'll answer me straight. But it's fine. I'll ask you both."

"Ask? About what?" Juushirou looked foxed, and Sora's expression became serious.

"The girl. The one in the forest." She murmured. "Because people have been talking about her a lot these last couple of days. Seems Minabe-sensei went to the local town and asked a lot of questions. Word's filtered back here, and pieces have been put together. Yesterday morning, after all, something was buried outside the school grounds and Unohana-sama was there to oversee it, so it had to be something kind of official. Naoko heard from her cousin in Anideshi's class that a body'd been found when they went out to rescue the pair of you in the mountain. Then we were all dragged out of class a couple of days ago, weren't we? It's not hard to see how it's all been connected."

"It's probably a question that you don't want the answer to." Shunsui said heavily. "And Juu and I don't know what that answer is either."

"Really?" Sora looked disappointed. "Murder like that is unusual in District One. I thought that Genryuusai-sensei must've at least said something."

Juushirou shook his head.

"I think he wants us to let it alone." He murmured. "He's barely mentioned it to me at all, and he's not spoken to Shunsui about it since her body was identified."

He hesitated, then spread his hands.

"She's been buried, now…I guess that's all there is to know."

Sora's eyes narrowed, and she glanced at Mitsuki quizzically. Mitsuki frowned, shaking her head.

"That's not completely true." She murmured. "I can tell, Ukitake-kun. It's in your aura. You're a bad liar – you don't do it naturally because you're honest and you don't know how to cover the signs. So it's obvious when you're not telling the full truth."

Juushirou stared at her, stricken, and Shunsui let out a heavy sigh.

"Listen, the pair of you." He said firmly. "If you came here to find out gossip, there's no gossip to find out. Just that whoever killed Megumi is still out there, and what's more, she was just a tool in something bigger. We don't know what that something bigger is. We just know it exists and it's dangerous, because when Megumi's friend brought me her message, she as much said so. Clan is probably involved – and it's not clear which at this moment. So stay out of it. It's not safe."

"Mitsuki-chan?" Sora asked softly, and Mitsuki shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"If Kyouraku-kun is lying, I can't tell." She said honestly. "I can't read his aura the same way as I can Ukitake-kun's. He's better at covering up his feelings – I can't see inside."

"Join the club." Sora muttered. "Fine. Then I guess we'll just have to take him at his word."

"You know, this spying game isn't very ladylike." Shunsui added. "Why does it bother you so much to find these things out?"

There was a moment of silence, then,

"I'm sorry. It's my fault." Mitsuki said sadly, her expression clouded with guilt and consternation. "Just…that girl…when she died…like a candle flame being snuffed out. I felt it, Kyouraku-kun. I wasn't in the common room and so I wasn't _actually_ involved. But I felt everything. Her fear. Her pain. Her screaming and fighting to get free. It flooded through me like she was right there within my reach. And then…it was gone. Just like that…_she_ was gone."

She bit her lip, rubbing her temples as Shunsui and Juushirou exchanged horrified looks.

"I felt you, Kyouraku-kun, and then Ukitake-kun and everything that followed." She murmured. "But between her leaving and you arriving, I felt a flicker of something else. Something that felt powerful, yet somehow scrambled and brief so I couldn't identify it. She was killed by a Shihouin blade, wasn't she? But it wasn't a Shihouin who wielded it – because the cut was all wrong. The herbs applied to the blade to stem the bleeding and conceal the evidence…they weren't in the right proportions. And the smell of those herbs…it was wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Shunsui asked softly, and Mitsuki swallowed hard, struggling to compose herself as tears glittered on her lashes.

"Edogawa-san, are you all right?" Juushirou asked anxiously, and Mitsuki nodded.

"I just don't like it when someone's in pain." She whispered.

"Mitsuki told us what she'd sensed happening in the forest." Sora said quietly. "And so, when we heard you'd been brought back, we crept down to the Healing Bay to find out what was going on. We didn't see any body being brought back. But we did see a Shihouin blade. And Mitsuki said that she could tell even from that distance – that the herbs used on it were wrong."

"They found a sword?" Shunsui froze. "But…when I found Megumi…there was no weapon."

"No. It wasn't found in the forest." Mitsuki whispered, shaking her head. "Naoko-chan found out because Retsu-sama is her kinswoman and she has other family who are based here as well as kin in higher classes who might have heard other stories. The sword was left _here_, at the school. After you and Ukitake-kun were brought back here. "

"Left at the school?" Juushirou echoed. "As what? A message? A warning?"

"An attempt to frame the Shihouin-ke, probably." Sora said frankly. "Only with Mitsuki's senses, we know that's not true. Mitsuki knows a lot more about herbs and medicaments than most of her Clan, and she also has the Kuchiki-ke's sensitive wits. Besides, the Shihouin have set themselves up as Kuchiki rivals for generations. There's very little the two Clans don't know about each other's key skills. Because of that, I believe Mitsuki's right."

"And so you came to tell us?" Shunsui asked, and Sora shrugged.

"I thought you weren't going to let it go." She said seriously. "Because no matter how much of a lazy idiot you are, Shunsui, I don't think you're the kind to hare out to save someone's life and then forget about them when you fail. You're stupid a lot of the time, a flake and a pervert t'boot. But you wouldn't let anyone get killed if you could help it – and if someone you knew was killed, I don't think you'd let it go."

She cast Juushirou a faint smile.

"And if _he_ did, _you_ certainly wouldn't." She added. "Even though I've only known you a short time, Juushirou, I'm sure about that."

"Even Yama-jii didn't mention the sword." Shunsui muttered. "But he _had_ gone to the trouble to discover the whereabouts of all local Shihouin between yelling at me and hauling us all out of Kenjitsu class. I should have realised why, then."

"He spoke to Aitori-sensei, who could provide him with an alibi for each of them." Juushirou added.

"Aitori's responsible for acting as go-between for the Shihouin here and District Two." Sora shrugged. "That's normal. It's like Kazoe would take responsibility for Unohana-ke problems, if Unohana-sama wasn't here in person so often herself. So of course he'd ask Aitori. And Aitori'd obviously know what his kin were up to if he was doing his job."

"Depending on what that job was, of course." Shunsui said grimly.

"Do you think _Aitori_ killed the girl?" Sora looked surprised, and Shunsui shook his head.

"No. He has an alibi." He replied. "But I wonder if Yama-jii asked him to identify the sword. And I wonder if he was able to identify it."

"Should he know something like that? It was an assassin's dagger, and not a _zanpakutou_." Sora pointed out, and Shunsui shrugged.

"I don't know." He admitted. "I don't know enough about the dark murkiness that is the Shihouin-ke to find out."

"But she _wasn't_ killed by a Shihouin." Mitsuki said softly. "Whatever that strong, stifled aura was surrounding her, it wasn't from that Clan."

"Well, we'd come to the same conclusion." Juushirou sighed. "That it wasn't a Shihouin who killed Megumi-san, even if it was a Shihouin weapon."

"This is a big deal, then, isn't it?" Sora's eyes glittered in anticipation. "A real life scandal right under our noses."

"Megumi was murdered." Shunsui said bluntly. "This isn't a game."

"Sora knows that, Shunsui-kun." Juushirou murmured. "She knows better than I do what it means, I expect, if a Clan is being framed and probably by another Clan."

"You want to solve it though, don't you?" Sora eyed Shunsui keenly, and Shunsui hesitated, then nodded his head.

"I promised Megumi justice, and I intend to keep my word." He agreed gravely.

"Then let us help you." Sora suggested.

"And put yourselves in danger? Not a chance."

"There's danger whether we're involved or not." Mitsuki said softly. "It's in the air, Kyouraku-kun. This is just the beginning. You know it too, don't you?"

"That's Kuchiki senses for you." Shunsui sighed, holding up his hands in resignation. "Okay, but listen. We're not doing anything crazy, impulsive or dare-devil. We don't know anything and we may never know anything. That's how it is. But I feel the same as Edogawa-san – that this is the start of something bigger. So as long as you can both be discreet…if you hear anything more, let us know, and vice versa. All right?"

"Maybe Edogawa-san could find Kyouko-san." Juushirou suggested.

"Kyouko-san?" Sora looked blank, and Juushirou nodded.

"The girl who came with Megumi-san's message. We don't know where she is."

Shunsui shook his head.

"Mitsuki felt Megumi when Megumi was being killed." He said gravely, and Juushirou could see the genuine pain in his friend's dark eyes. "Megumi's terror must've been so great it sent waves across the whole of the area, and an empath like Mitsuki-chan couldn't help but tune it in. It wasn't far from the school really, after all. But so long as Kyouko's not in danger, the same won't happen. She'll hopefully be further away by now, too, if she's managed to cross into District Eight. And if Mitsuki does sense something…chances are it'll be too late to reach Kyouko, not a way of finding her. For now, let's leave that one alone."

"So what can we do, then?" Sora demanded.

"Right now, nothing." Shunsui said frankly. "Till Juu's out of quarantine and back among the rest of us."

"We could at least find out what happened to that weapon." Sora suggested.

"Aitori-sensei would have it, wouldn't he?" Juushirou asked. "Being that it belongs to his Clan. If Megumi-san's been buried and the case is not going to be taken any further…"

"Yama-jii trusts Aitori, so that's probably the case." Shunsui said slowly. "Mitsuki-chan, how confident are you in your senses?"

"I'm sorry?" Mitsuki looked startled.

"The weapon that killed Megumi probably has traces of her spirit aura left clinging to it." Shunsui murmured. "Do you think you'd be able to tell, if you saw that blade again?"

"I suppose so." Mitsuki agreed. "If I did see it. And was able to get close enough to it…yes."

She shivered.

"I'll never forget that girl's pain." She added. "I want to help, if I can."

"Then we need to find out if Aitori does have the sword – or more, whether or not it is his sword." Shunsui said evenly.

"You do suspect Aitori!" Sora's eyes widened, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Not of murder. But of something, maybe." He replied. "Can you girls find that out? Aitori hates Juu and doesn't like me that much. But even though there's rivalry with the Shihouin and the Kuchiki, he seems to like both Mitsuki and Ryuu-kun enough. And he doesn't hate _you_ either, Sora-chan. You'd be a lot less suspicious to him – especially Mitsuki-chan."

"Then we'll do it." Sora nodded. "Count on us, Shunsui. We'll find out if Aitori has that sword, and if he does, whether it belongs to him or not!"


	17. Shadow Cat

**Chapter Sixteen: Shadow Cat**

"Well, welcome back to the world of the living, Juu-kun!"

As Juushirou stepped out of the Healing Bay, a voice hailed him and he turned, a rueful grin touching his lips as he registered Hirata and Shunsui waiting in the hallway beyond. Shunsui cast him a casual grin, even as Hirata bounced forward, an eager look in his pale blue eyes as he grasped Juushirou's sleeves.

"Ukitake-kun! Are you really all better now? Shikibu-san said she'd heard from Kazoe-sensei that you were re-joining classes from tomorrow - so Kyouraku-kun and I came to see if it was true. We thought we could wait for you, since Unohana-sama wouldn't let us come into the Healing Bay itself."

"Hirata's cheered up considerably since he heard the news." Shunsui said dryly. "Naoko-chan's a useful person to have, sometimes, with her links to Unohana-san."

"Well, the rumours are true." Juushirou carefully detached himself from the younger boy's grip, casting a smile down at the excited student. "Is it that good a thing, then, to have me back in classes?"

"I've missed you." Hirata said simply. "It isn't the same when you're sick, and I don't like it when you are."

"Well, I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to make you worry quite so much." Juushirou said apologetically. "I didn't mean things to happen quite how they did - but it's all right, now. I'm almost back to as fighting fit as this body ever gets - and I'm restless here. Genryuusai-sensei came to see me this morning and he agreed that I should be cut loose, before I annoy Unohana-sensei's assistants any more...his words, pretty much."

"You make a bad patient, in short." Shunsui tut-tutted. "Unforgivable considering you're such a frequent offender."

"That's why I'm a bad patient. The novelty wears off quick." Juushirou said darkly.

"Kuchiki-kun was going to the bath-house when we left, but that was only ten minutes ago and he said that if you were or weren't kicked out of here, we should come meet him there afterwards." Shunsui said casually, as they made their way along the corridor. "He didn't want to come along himself, because he's a bit embarrassed about how worried he is about you and he's not wanted you to think he's gone soft or anything. But I know he'll be glad to see you back with us, so I reckon we should do as he says. A warm bath sounds like a nice way to welcome you back, after all - tomorrow will be back to the grindstone."

"Kuchiki-kun said that?" Juushirou looked surprised, then he smiled,nodding his head. "All right. I smell of Healing Bay and herbal remedies and whatever else at the moment, so it might be nice to wash all of that stuff off."

"Did Unohana-san comment on Mitsuki-chan's love potion?" Shunsui asked innocently, and Juushirou stopped dead, glaring at him as Hirata's eyes almost fell out of his head.

"_Love_ potion?" He repeated, and Juushirou hurriedly shook his head.

"It was a cough remedy, not a love potion and she brought it because she was concerned, not because of some secret love tryst." He said firmly. "Stories like that exist only in your very strange head, Shunsui - and you'd probably do better if you didn't spout them out loud too often. I know when you're joking, but Hirata obviously doesn't."

"Maybe." Shunsui pursed his lips, looking thoughtful. "Probably my comments are wasted on you, then, in that case. I'll save them for when Houjou comes back. He should be easier to play with in that regard - he's far more innocent and trusting that way."

"Where _is_ Houjou-kun, anyway?" Juushirou frowned, glancing around him as he did so. "It's not like him to be out of the action - if you two are here and Kuchiki-kun is in the bath-house, what've you done with him? Is he sick, too? Or is it a family visit or something like that?"

Shunsui pursed his lips, meeting Hirata's gaze for a moment, then shaking his head.

"He's in isolation." He said simply. "In the confinement cells. For three days. Till tomorrow."

"Isolation?" Juushirou's eyes widened, and Hirata nodded.

"For fighting." He added softly. "With Onoe-kun from Class Two. They're both locked in until tomorrow as punishment from Genryuusai-sensei."

"I don't believe it." Juushirou stared at his companions incredulously. "And why did no one tell me about this? I saw you both yesterday - how come I wasn't told?"

"Because you'd probably have leapt out of your sick bed to go to plead his case, so I decided it was better to keep it till now." Shunsui said pragmatically. "And when I discussed it with Hirata, he agreed."

"We didn't want you worrying about anything." Hirata agreed. "I'm sorry, Ukitake-kun. But...there wasn't anything we or you could do about it."

"I see." Juushirou frowned, digesting this. "But _Houjou_-kun? For _fighting_? Why on earth? I know he's big and strong and good at combat skills but even so...he's not the kind to just charge into a fight without a good reason! What got into him?"

"Onoe-kun said something unforgivable." Hirata said simply. "And Houjou-kun didn't like it."

"Unforgivable?" Juushirou's brows knotted together. "In what way, unforgivable?"

"Let's just say they had a difference of opinion." Shunsui said casually. "He was defending your honour, as it happens - you should be happy he thinks so much of you."

"My honour?" Juushirou looked stricken. "You mean...it was because of me he got involved in something? But he shouldn't! I mean, I'm fine! I'm not bothered by things people say about me not being Clan or whatever else and I certainly don't let it ruin my time here. I've friends I can rely on and it's okay - if they don't want me here then it's their problem and not mine. Houjou-kun should know that - he should know that that's how I feel about it, and stay out of it. I don't understand why he'd be so reckless - it isn't like him at all."

Shunsui and Hirata exchanged looks once more, and Hirata sighed, shaking his head.

"He's in isolation until tomorrow, anyway." He said at length, pushing open the door of their dormitory and leading the way inside. "And we were going to the bath house. Are we still? Kuchiki-kun will be wondering what's taking us so long, since he said he was going to go straight there from the library."

"You're really getting all assertive now, aren't you?" Shunsui eyed him fondly, and Hirata glared at him, his cheeks reddening furiously.

"Don't tease him." Juushirou warned. "It's not fair, Shunsui-kun. Not everyone takes it as lightly as I do, after all."

"I know. I just can't help myself sometimes." Shunsui relented. "Sorry, Hirata-chan. I didn't mean any offence by it. On the contrary, I'm glad that you're speaking up more than you were before."

He crouched down by his bunk, rummaging around in the pile of belongings as he did so.

"Now where did I put my clean towel...?"

"Did you lose something else?" Juushirou looked amused, and Shunsui shrugged, sitting back on his heels.

"Probably." He agreed. "Give me a hand, will you?"

"But Kuchiki-kun will be waiting." Juushirou pointed out, and Shunsui smiled.

"Hirata, do you mind running on and telling Kuchiki we'll be there as soon as I've got through my mandatory incompetence for the day and located my towel? Between Juu-kun and I, we should be able to manage - is that okay?"

Hirata sighed heavily, but nodded his head.

"I suppose so." he agreed reluctantly, casting Juushirou a glance as he did so. "Please don't be long, though, Ukitake-kun. I don't always know what to say to Kuchiki-kun - and I don't think he likes me very much, even now."

With that he was gone, and Juushirou frowned.

"Kuchiki-kun isn't still giving Hirata a hard time, is he?" He asked hesitantly. "With my not being here, and all."

"I didn't think you thought Kuchiki was that kind of person. Lonely and awkward with people - isn't that how you put it?" Shunsui reminded him, pulling his towel out from the pile and setting it down on his bed. "You should have more faith in him. He doesn't pick on the kid, in any case. It's just that neither he nor Hirata are good at starting conversations with each other - and Hirata takes that as a slight against him, that's all."

"Hey! You had your towel all along!" Juushirou exclaimed, and Shunsui nodded.

"I know. Guilty." He agreed casually, taking his bathrobe from its hook. "But I wanted to talk to you and I wanted it to be alone. This way was easiest - Hirata wouldn't like it if he thought you and I had secrets from him, after all - he's very protective of you, in one way or another."

"I don't know about that." Juushirou frowned. "But okay, I'll bite. What about, then? Surely not Megumi-san, not right this moment?"

"No. About Enishi-kun and his faux pas, actually." Shunsui leant up against the wall. "When he's let out, Juu, don't give him a hard time over it. What Onoe said got him what he deserved. The only shame of it is that Houjou was silly enough to get caught, that's all. And that's the reason he got locked up like he did."

"What he said was really that awful?" Juushirou looked surprised, and Shunsui sighed.

"It was unforgivable, as Hirata said." He said simply. "That's all."

"No...it's not all." Juushirou shook his head. "If it was that way, I want to know. What was it Onoe-kun said? If it was bad enough to put even Houjou-kun into a rage, then...I ought to know."

"Are you sure about that?" Shunsui looked doubtful. "It's all very well thinking you do, but...once I tell you, I can't un-tell you."

"It's fine. I don't need protecting." Juushirou made up his mind. "What did Onoe-kun say, Shunsui? Tell me. I want to know."

Shunsui sighed heavily, rubbing his temples, then nodding.

"Remember when we went into town that night - the last night I saw Megumi alive?" He asked slowly, and Juushirou nodded.

"I remember. What about it?"

"And what we talked about...? What we've all _been_ talking about? About the drugs that the girls were using, and how they came to be invented, and so on?"

"Yes." Juushirou's brow furrowed. "What of it?"

"I think we mentioned then, among us, that the chemicals got banned a long time ago, but still slipped through the cracks somehow so that Megumi and the others got hold of them." Shunsui said carefully. "The people who used those in the past, well, they became addicted to them, of course, just like Megumi-chan and the rest. Only it had other more dramatic effects on their health. They'd suffer weight loss. Hoarseness. Coughing. Choking up blood. Fever. Tiredness. Things like that."

Juushirou's eyes widened, as a slow chill began to spread through his body, and Shunsui nodded.

"You're smart enough to have already seen where I'm going with this." he said regretfully. "The thing is, Juu, people like you are rare in this Society. People with your ability and with your weakness - the two together are almost unthinkable in many quarters. You're not Clan, yet you have undeniable power. This threatens people - kids like Onoe, I guess, but others among the Clans too. That idea wasn't Onoe's idea first of all, I'd lay odds on it. It's a Clan prejudice. An idea that comes from much higher up."

Juushirou paled, chewing down on his lip hard enough that he could taste blood.

"_We_ know you're not using chemicals to enhance or create your power." Shunsui added. "It's obvious to anyone with any spiritual awareness that your reiatsu is all your own. But I've certainly never met anyone with your health condition, and nor, I guess, has anyone else in our year - maybe not even in the school, Yama-jii aside. So that being the case, people's minds have gone to the worst case scenario. They can't explain something, so they force an explanation to fit the facts. And that's what they've come up with. That was why Houjou took off at Onoe. Because he took exception to Onoe's distortion of how things are."

He frowned, eying his friend anxiously.

"Juu? Are you all right?"

"How _dare_ they." At length, Juushirou found his vocal chords, his words shaking as he clenched and unclenched his fists, struggling to get control of his surging emotions. "How _dare_ they imply that I'm some kind of cheat! That I'd somehow try and fool Genryuusai-sensei and make a mockery of this place...of everything my parents ever taught me.._how dare they_!"

"Woah, boy, calm down." Shunsui grabbed him by the shoulders, giving him a little shake as if trying to bring him back to himself. "If I'd thought you were going to take it that hard, I wouldn't have told you. But you said you didn't care what they thought of you - didn't you? So why care about this one? It's a lie, so that's what matters. It's not as though him saying it made it true."

"You don't understand." Juushirou shook himself free, his eyes glittering with tears of anger and frustration. "You don't get it, Shunsui. You really..."

"Then explain it to me." Shunsui tossed his robe over his shoulder, scooping up his towel and taking his friend's arm in his free one. "We'll take the long walk to the bath-house so you can cool down before Hirata sees you and thinks I've done something else awful to you -all right?"

"No...I'm not going there. Not for a minute." Juushirou shook his head, pulling a deep breath into his lungs. "If I do, I'll just shout at someone, and I don't want...to make Hirata cry."

"Right now _you're_ the one who looks ready to start crying." Shunsui said gently. "I'm sorry, Juu-kun. If I'd thought you'd get like this, I wouldn't have said anything at all. But..."

"No. It isn't your fault. I needed to know and you were only the messenger." Juushirou shook his head, letting out his breath in a deep sigh. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have reacted so...but even so..."

He faltered, burying his head in his hands as he fought to get himself under control.

"I've lived with this disease every day since I was born." He murmured. "Every hour. Every minute. Every second of my life it's there - it never goes away. Whatever I do, whatever I become, I won't ever shake it. I hate it, sometimes, being sick. I hate that it holds me back, or makes me such a burden for other people. I want to push on and do everything like everyone else. Why would they think for one minute I'd _want _to subject my body to these things, just for the sake of something stupid like power? If I could trade my reiatsu for my health, sometimes I'd do it. Seriously. I really would. But to suggest that the power I have - the strength that my parents left me...I can't bear that. It's not fair. It's just not fair."

"I know it's not, which is why I'm glad Houjou gave Onoe a good bruising." Shunsui said categorically. "Almost broke his nose, in fact - so I doubt he'll be spouting stories like that again any time soon. He may be a Shihouin, that kid, but he's not a patch on Kai-kun when it comes to combat arts and Houjou was pretty damn livid from start to finish."

"He shouldn't have got involved." Juushirou sighed, suddenly feeling tired as the rage flooded out of him. "I've caused him bother, now, because he was defending me."

"I'd take it as a compliment, rather than anything." Shunsui reflected. "Enishi's strong and he's not stupid, but he's not as perceptive to reiatsu as some of the rest of us. For Kuchiki and I, for example, it's obvious that your reiatsu is as pure - if sometimes more savage - as anyone else's. But Enishi can't detect those things. Yet even though he can't know one hundred percent for himself that Onoe's talking rubbish, he still reacted in your defence. He's a pretty loyal soldier, that one, and he's on your side for keeps - if there's nothing else you can take from it, you can take that."

He grinned.

"Houjou thinks a lot of you, just like Hirata idolises you." he added. "And if Onoe's spreading rumours, it means he's jealous and feels threatened by your being here. You have a lot of support, after all. A lot of friends who worried about you while you were sick. Yama-jii won't let the poison spread, don't worry. He knows better than anyone what you are or are not. So don't destroy yourself over one kid's idiocy. Okay? People say foolish things - and Onoe will be feeling the bruises of his for some time to come yet."

"I suppose so." Juushirou managed a faint smile. "Maybe, then, I should thank Houjou-kun, when he comes back with the rest of us."

"Yes. Perhaps you should." Shunsui grinned. "Besides, one other very interesting thing came out of this, too - which is what I actually stopped you back to talk about."

"Such as?" Juushirou frowned, and Shunsui spread his hands.

"The one who broke up the fight was Shihouin." He said lightly. "Well, I was there too, of course, but it was Shihouin who actively pulled them apart."

"You mean _you_ let Houjou-kun fight...?" Juushirou faltered, hesitating as he absorbed the rest of his friend's words. "Wait a minute. _Shihouin-kun_ did?"

"Yes." Shunsui's eyes glittered with anticipation. "And it was _Onoe_ he hauled up, not Houjou. Onoe's his kinsman, yet he pulled him back right away...and you know what he said about it?"

"Go on." Juushirou's brows knitted. "You'd better not be suggesting Shihouin-kun wants to be friends too, now, because I don't think he'd agree with you."

"No...not that." Shunsui shook his head. "But he did say to Onoe - 'shut your mouth, you idiot' and, erm, 'don't start rumours that you can't control'. That was it."

"The point being...?"

"Well, I thought it was interesting." Shunsui shrugged. "Shihouin, who couldn't care less if you were here or weren't, who's never said a civil word to you that I can remember and who wouldn't bother about folk spreading rumours that you were an Elephant's child...telling his own cousin to back off and shut his mouth. Doesn't that strike you as a touch odd? Even...significant in some way?"

"Now you mention it, it does sound a bit funny." Juushirou realised, scooping up his own robe as they made for the door. "As though he wasn't telling Onoe-kun to stop being stupid but rather...to not bring up a subject like that in that way."

"Yes." Shunsui beamed. "And that got me to thinking. Because the only logical reason I can think of as to why any of the Shihouin-ke wouldn't want people talking about illicit chemicals long since banned - even in connection with someone District born - is that they have some connection to those chemicals that they don't want uncovered. And from the way in which Shihouin reacted, I'd say that was a definite possibility. He looked stressed, Juu-kun. Seriously annoyed. And Onoe sent him a very odd look, too, half-resentful but almost...as though he'd got a message that hadn't been said out loud. The more I think about it, the more I think Shihouin telling Onoe not to say anything tells us more than Onoe starting rumours."

"Which means the Shihouin-ke might be connected to Megumi-san's death, after all?" Juushirou asked, and Shunsui shrugged.

"Where there's smoke." He said, a look of satisfaction entering his brown eyes. "So don't let the story upset you - all right? So far as I'm concerned, that possible little tidbit of information is worth a few days in isolation or a ruffling of feathers. Don't you think?"

"It's not your isolation or your feathers." Juushirou pointed out dryly, and Shunsui chuckled, nodding his head.

"I know." He agreed blithely. "But even so. It suggests that Shihouin - or Onoe - or both - are links in a potentially loose chain, though. Which means there's every likelihood Aitori's also involved, too - just as I thought in the first place. The only problem is that they're all accounted for the night that Megumi died - which means that they must've been in league with someone else. And...we don't have far to look for that."

"Meaning?"

"Shihouin Midori's bethrothal to Endou Seimaru." Shunsui said succinctly. "An alliance which is little different from a declaration of war in Clan terms."

"Endou..." Juushirou frowned. "That's why you didn't want Hirata to hear? Because you think I can't trust him either?"

"I didn't say anything of the sort." Shunsui shook his head. "But I do think that for his sake it's better he knows as little as possible. That way, if his Clan are involved - and they want to get him involved - he won't know anything to tell them and they'll have no benefit in forcing information from him. Will they?"

"I see." Juushirou's expression cleared. "I'm sorry...you're protecting Hirata, aren't you? Not accusing him at all."

"Hirata-chan's the kind of kid who needs protecting rather a lot, I imagine." Shunsui said with a grin. "But I'm becoming strangely fond of him, despite how often he glares at me for stealing away your company. I don't think he's got evil intentions, no. Not towards you, in any case. But on the off-chance the Endou are involved, it's better he doesn't know what we're discussing. For his sake and ours."

He shrugged.

"You mentioned Hirata's pale eyes before - and now I think on it, I've met Seimaru once or twice at a distance." he added. "I'm not certain, but I think _he'd _fit the description Kyouko gave us, you know. Though the Endou-ke are the Endou-ke - I believe one of their ancestors was Urahara. Which would explain it."

"Yes. I see that." Juushirou nodded. "And I agree. We should keep Hirata out of it all the more, if there's some reason to think this Seimaru person is involved. Kuchiki-kun already told me he was dangerous once - perhaps he was right."

"Ryuu-kun is pretty sharp-witted, you know, all in all - if a tad paranoid." Shunsui reflected. "But in this case he's probably right on the money. They're Endou-ke neighbours as much as I am - and he's a lot more observant than me to Clan things."

"Yes. Maybe." Juushirou frowned. "In which case, we should head to the bath house before either Hirata or Kuchiki-kun think we've been abducted or something en route."

"Good idea." Shunsui agreed. "I'm right behind you."

* * *

The moon was all but invisible in the sky that evening.

Midori rested her hands on the sill of her bedroom window, gazing absently up at the thick smudge of cloud that cloaked the sky above the Endou-ke estate. Somehow it seemed to fit, that she, a prisoner as she was, should be prevented from even seeing the beauties in Nature's night sky.

She sighed, shaking herself from her reverie.

It would not do, to dwell so much on her predicament. She would lose her wits sooner than she would find her freedom, and in this place her wits were the only thing standing between her and defeat. She was a Shihouin, after all. They did not concede to anyone that easily. And even if the Clan had decided she was to marry Seimaru, Midori had far from made up her mind as to his worthiness yet.

_He is foolish, and so long as I lure him deeper into that foolishness, my chance will come. Whatever I must endure till then, I will endure it for the sake of the Clan. But I will not endure it forever. I will not be the puppet he seeks me to be - I will not raise my children as anything other than Shihouin-ke._

"Midori-sama?"

A knock at the door alerted her to Saku's presence, and she got to her feet, calling her servant to enter. The maid did so, slipping almost silently into the room and closing the door behind her before dropping down before her mistress, head lowered. Midori eyed her for a moment, a flicker of pensiveness in her heart.

_But for your low blood, Saku, you might have made an assassin. Such a pity you were born in the world you were...such stealth and intelligence should be utilised, not wasted and tossed aside. _

"Well?" She said aloud. "Do you have something for me?"

"Yes, Mistress." Saku opened her hands, revealing the freshly picked blossoms of the passion vine that grew not far from the bedchamber inhabited by the old and fearsome wife of the Clan leader. At the sight of them, Midori smiled, picking them up and glancing at them each carefully in turn.

"So these are the blooms of the passion flower, then?" She murmured. "I see. I have often seen dried petals and powder from those petals, but never the blossom in its fresh entirety. Yet these grow in your home District too, Saku? You are quite sure these are the same?"

"Yes, Mistress." Saku agreed. "When my Father was ill, I used to make him sleeping remedies from them...and I know that he did the same for my mother before him. She was ill for a good long time, Mistress, before she died - and in much pain. Father would do whatever he could for her - and even though I was a small child, he taught me the methods too."

"You have a quick mind and a long memory, both of which I find invaluable to me." Midori acknowledged. "Of all the things I have acquired since I came to District Seven, Saku, you are the only one in which I take any pride or gratitude. Yet the Endou-ke assigned you to be my servant because they disdain you as being beneath their own, native born District common class. You are a migrant and a nothing here, except for your usefulness to me. It never fails to amaze me how foolish the family I am supposedly marrying into are."

Saku did not reply, and Midori laughed.

"But I suppose, as a servant, you have no way to defend yourself from such prejudice." She said lightly. "You are, after all, low-born. And you have noone to speak for you. Do you?"

"I have not asked for anyone to speak for me, Mistress." Saku said softly, raising purposeful dark eyes to her companion's golden ones. "To serve you is an honour and a pleasure, and I am content in my position here. I have no reason to look for outside help. So long as I can be of service to you, Midori-sama, I am well."

"Prettily chosen words, and well learnt." Midori set the flowers down on the unit, touching Saku on the head. "But not from the heart, I think. You are a stranger in this land and you long to leave it - just as I do. But as I am, you are trapped here. Is that not so, Saku?"

"As you have already observed, Midori-sama, I have noone to speak for me, and noone to care for." Saku said simply. "This life is as good as any other."

"Perhaps." Midori fingered the petals of the passion flower thoughtfully. "But I wonder...how loyal are you? How deep do your ties here run?"

"Mistress?" Saku's eyes opened wide, and Midori smiled.

"Why do you suppose an assassin's child seeks soporific flowers?" She asked softly. "It is not to scent her pillows nor pretty her chamber, after all."

Saku stared at her, speechless, and Midori shrugged.

"I mean to find out, by fair means or foul, what my Clan have sent me into." She said simply. "If I am to be Endou Midori, I wish to know what troubles that will bring. My Clan would expect it of me, also. They are not such fools as to send their eldest eligible young woman into a lion's den without hoping she might learn something of use from her time there. Endou Seimaru has a reputation for cruelty and I find him boorish and irritating as a potential spouse...yes, I admit, he frightens me enough for me to want to find some kind of insurance. To discover the things he won't let me be told. I am here, in this building, and not with his family. I am not permitted to present myself formally before the Head of his Clan nor his immediate family. Why is this? It is an insult for one like me to be so treated...yet there must be a reason why. And I will discover those things."

She gestured to the petals.

"I may have need of those, if it proves more difficult." She added. "I will keep to my family's way and only kill those who must be killed, after all. You needn't look so shocked, Saku. I am an assassin's daughter. I am not afraid of death - giving it or receiving it. You should have realised that by now."

She eyed the maid keenly.

"Well? And now, what will you do, my attendant from District Eight? Will you run to the Endou-ke to betray my plans to them? Or will you risk your position to protect my secrets, as a like stray trapped in a foreign world?"

Saku hesitated for a moment, then she bowed once more before her companion.

"I do not break my word, Mistress." She said softly. "When you arrived here, I swore to be your loyal servant in all your needs, and to not leave your side nor give you reason to find me wanting. I mean to keep that promise. I am, after all, quite alone here. There is nobody of higher standing than Midori-sama for me to report anything to, and I have no loyalties other than my duty as your servant and companion."

"Then it is well." Midori's eyes narrowed. "But I had faith in that fact, too. I'm a good judge of character, even among the low-born servant class. At home, I always knew precisely which I could and which I could not trust to have around me. I like you, Saku. You have values even despite your birth and you do not beg for anything. You listen, you obey, and you understand. I am glad of it."

She reached across to pull her companion to her feet, slipping a tiny, elegant blade from the folds of her robe and at the sight of it, Saku blanched, staring at her companion in dismay.

"Midori-sama?"

"Are you afraid?" Midori asked curiously. "If I was to bring this to your throat, would you scream for mercy, then?"

Saku stiffened for a moment, then she shook her head.

"I am not afraid, Mistress." She said softly, standing up straight and holding her head firm. "Do with me what you will."

Midori let out a low, approving chuckle, nodding her head.

"Then so I shall." She whispered, taking the maid's hand gently in her grip and bringing the point of the blade across the palm of her hand in a swift cross. Though the weapon's edge was blunted for show, Midori's skill drew blood and Saku let out a gasp of pain and surprise at the sudden contact. She did not draw back, however, and at her strength of will, Midori found her own apprehensions lightening.

"Whatever happens from now on, I intend to keep you." She murmured. "Even when I am that man's wife. You are bound to me now - do you understand? For better or worse...you are my servant until you draw your last breath."

Saku glanced at her wounded hand, putting it gingerly to her lips as she sucked it clean of blood. She did not speak, but Midori knew from her expression that the girl had understood. And more, she had accepted it. She was now Midori's - body, heart and soul.

"Then it is well." She reflected, wiping the blade clean and sliding it back into the folds of her robe. "You are intelligent for one born so low."

She sighed, turning to face her reflection in the long, smoky mirror at the chamber's furthest end.

"I wish to know everything, Saku, and you can only be my eyes and ears in so many places." She murmured. "So there is nothing else for it. I must go myself and see what this family has hidden in the shadows of that ancient Clan building."

"But...Mistress...to leave here..." Saku was anxious, forgetting her injured hand as she started forwards. "Please, Midori-sama, let _me_ go! I can find out whatever you need, but you know what Seimaru-sama's orders were! You weren't to leave here - please, Midori-sama, he might hurt you if he thought you'd broken your bounds!"

"_Should _I be content as his prisoner?" Midori eyed her companion quizzically, and Saku shook her head.

"Of course not, but..."

"But you are worried about me?" Midori was taken aback, registering for the first time the genuine anxiety in the young girl's eyes. "You are, aren't you? You fear for my safety when that man is nearby?"

Saku bit her lip, then dropped her head in an apologetic bow.

"I am beyond myself, Mistress." She murmured. "But I cannot...I do not wish...to see you come to any harm."

"Then I will reassure you." Midori's expression softened, and she reached across to tilt the girl's head back upwards, meeting her clouded gaze evenly. "Look me in the eye, Saku. I want to see it again - that apprehensive loyalty that fired up inside of you just now. Even in the few months I've been here, you've meant what you said, haven't you? You've taken your vow at your word and you intend to serve me, no matter what that means. Even to worry for my safety - I have that much of an influence over you, even now?"

"Midori-sama was separated from her home and family, and everything familiar." Saku said softly. "But you are strong, Mistress. And when I'm with you - I feel strong, too. That no matter what I face, it's not beyond me."

"I see." Midori was amused. "Well, I must say, Eighth District must be a more interesting place than I ever thought."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"You needn't concern yourself with my safety, however." She said softly. "I won't go like this. You won't know the legend, I know, of the Shihouin Shadow-cat - will you?"

"No...No, Mistress." Saku looked startled, and Midori stretched out her hands, eying them as her body became hazed in a faint bluish glow.

"The strongest female in the Clan has the power to change her form to mimic the creature of ultimate stealth and shadow-stalking." She said softly, as her body began to change and morph, her voice dropping and becoming more throaty as she allowed her power to fully engulf her form. "Watch me closely, Saku, for what you are witnessing is something never seen by those outside of the Clan's trust. You are truly my servant, now, for you've seen me in this form. In the form of the black cat - the Shadow-cat of the Shihouin-ke."

"Midori-sama." Saku's eyes could not get any wider, and Midori flicked her tail, leaping deftly up onto the window-sill and turning to face her flabbergasted companion.

"Put away my clothing, and continue as normal." She instructed. "If anyone asks to see me, tell them I have taken a sleeping potion from the flowers I sent you to bring me and cannot be roused till the morning. Keep this door shut and locked and make sure that it is not opened by anyone till I return. Understood? I will be back before the sun rises, that I guarantee."

"But...Mistress...where are you going? How will you...?"

"From this window, down to the grounds below." Midori responded simply. "A cat can make the leap with no danger, and Seimaru and his foolish kin don't know that their precious prisoner has such a perfectly kept secret. They are truly very ignorant as to the Shihouin-ke, and I seek to utilise that. I will return safely, when I have had a chance to discover a few more of this dark family's secrets. Do you understand my instructions, Saku?"

Saku hesitated for a moment, then she bowed her head.

"Yes, Midori-sama. I'll do exactly as you say." She said softly, her composure back in her voice. "And pray for your safe return."

Midori flicked her tail once more in acknowledgement, then she turned, slipping through the gap in the barred windows and leaping down to the bushes below.

_  
Saku _is_ strong-willed, to recover her wits so quickly. She really is wasted - I wonder, if I've time to kill, whether I might have her train as an assassin on my behalf after all. If I must stay here, after all, I must have something to keep me occupied in the long and boring days and weeks to come._

She paused, raising her head to sniff the air as a flow of different scents and auras criss-crossed her enhanced feline senses.

_Seimaru. What do you do, then, when I do not see you? What do you hide from me, even though you speak of making me your wife? What makes you so confident and so dismissive of my family's influence? I want to know._

She padded softly across the grass, following the taint of her fiance's distinctive aura to the crumbling far wall of what could only be described as a castle outchamber, built in ancient times by some of the earliest Endou-ke as they had laid claim to this land as their own. In the years since, it had been altered and developed into one of the most impressive estates for miles around, yet these chipped, chalky foundations amused Midori as she neatly clambered her way up the outside to the nearest window.

_Shaky foundations make a shaky Clan. I rather like that idea._

She flexed her claws, digging them deeply into the wood of the window shutters as she edged her tiny form carefully onto the sill, concealing herself in the shadow cast by the cloud-coated moon. The taint was stronger within, along with other strong traces of high-ranking members of the clan, and Midori slipped soundlessly inside, dropping down unseen into the darkened corner of the room. She pressed her slender body closer to the cold wall of the chamber, settling herself down in the shade of one of the large, ornate columns that flanked the central desk. It was an overly demonstrative display of Clan power for a chamber so deep within the Endou estate, yet somehow it fit the family that lived around it, and Midori found her derision growing three-fold as she contemplated this fact.

The Head of the Endou-ke, the white-haired, ruthless figure of Endou Shouichi was nowhere to be seen, but in his place Seimaru sat behind the desk, going through a pile of documents with a careful, scrutinous eye. As he engrossed himself in his work, however, the door slid back, and at the interruption, Midori felt the flicker of tension sear through her fiance's body.

"Do you not knock before you enter this room?" He demanded, and the other man smiled, shaking his head as he closed the divide softly behind him.

"I have no need to knock, nor announce my presence to you yet, Seimaru-kun." He said softly, his tones even and unwavering. "You spent much time with Mother this morning, after all - I trust she hasn't yet changed her position regarding your official role in this house?"

"Grandmother is an interfering old fool who thinks she has more power than she does." Seimaru bristled. "You know that as well as I, Ojisama. You seek to benefit from it, in fact, at my expense. It's clear that I am the next blood heir to the family, after Father's death last year. Yet she refuses to ratify what is simply logic. And Grandfather insists on humouring her...I cannot understand why."

"Because Mother knows you are still young and foolish, perhaps, and she wants to be sure you have the right qualities to lead this family into the future." His companion said lightly. "She is no fool, after all. Even Father sees that - she has much affection and support from so many areas of District Seven that defying her will in these matters could lead to civil war."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"But you are betrothed, now, are you not?" He said softly. "So you will soon have your way. Mother will ratify your position when you take a wife...then she will acknowledge you as adult enough to rule the Clan. She believes, after all, that the Endou-ke should never be without a woman's touch behind the man's guiding hand. So humour her, and you might find things get easier. Bring Midori-dono into the central house and present her properly. There is surely no reason to delay."

"I don't need advice from you." Seimaru snapped, his tones dripping with derision. "You and your whole family would not even be within an inch of this District, let alone this Clan if it was simply down to the good sense of Grandfather and I. Just because the old woman has always doted on you...you think you can supercede your position and talk to me as my superior. You will never be that, Misashi-jisama. Grandmother may be beloved by many, but she is old, ill and infirm. She will not live forever. And when she dies, you can mark my words. There will be no more time to waste spoiling you or your pathetic family."

Midori watched as the uncle's eyes became shadowed, and he slowly shook his head.

"Mother understands that a Clan founded entirely on killing weakens itself with every strike." He said softly. "That is why she favours me over you. It is the only reason. It has nothing to do with sentimentality or a mother's feeling for her son. She believes that, of all her children, I see things closest to her way, and therefore she has put her backing behind me. If you would come to understand her meaning, I think it would benefit you. I've no desire to rule the Endou-ke over your head. I never have done. But I dislike the rifts that exist between members of our Clan. You would kill me soon as look at me - and my wife and children by association. And now you plot the assassination of another - of a stranger, whose actions have no direct bearing on you whatsoever."

"Liar." Seimaru hissed, his reiatsu prickling and dancing with indignation. "Genryuusai-sama isn't a stranger, and his actions have an impact on all of us. He is allowing low-born, district children to learn Noble skills. He is spreading the word that those creatures, who crawl out of whatever homes to do whatever work are in some way our equals and I will not allow that! This Clan was founded on more than that, after all! And Grandfather believes the same as I do. Why else do you suppose so many people in District Seven have been exiled or slain in the past twelve months?"

"Because a mad-man gave an order and the people were too afraid to disobey." Misashi said simply, and Seimaru let out a cry of anger, launching himself at his Uncle. The older man was too quick for him, however, deflecting his attempt and knocking the boy to the floor.

"Stop this." He said softly. "You are my nephew, not my enemy. We are kin. Clan. We are on the same side, deep down beneath all the rivalry and animosity."

"And that's why you disobeyed Grandfather and sent your snivelling brat of a son to that Academy instead of training him here?" Seimaru demanded. "I'm not stupid, even though you think I am. I know Hirata was sent there because you intend him to rival me in some way. You want him to get stronger on these base, cheap methods Genryuusai is teaching, and then challenge and kill me. That's your intention, and it always has been! Your sweet words have never fooled me for a moment. I know you are Endou, just as I am. And I understand better than anyone how the Endou-ke work."

"Yes. I'm sure you do." Misashi looked pained, and despite herself Midori felt sorry for him. "But Hirata's education has nothing to do with you. I felt it best. That's all. I would not want my son to inherit the bloodstained fields of District Seven in those circumstances - now or ever. Leave the boy to himself, Seimaru. He is not a part of your scheme and he is not your puppet. I will not allow him to become so."

"Like I need a mouse like that." Seimaru snorted. "I might slit his throat one day, but other than that he has no interest for me at all. No. I have more important things on my mind. Things involving the Clan. Things involving the Shihouin. And things involving the future."

At the sound of her Clan's name, Midori tensed, and for a brief moment Misashi's gaze flitted towards her hiding place, making her afraid that she had been discovered. The moment passed, however, and Misashi turned his attention back to his nephew.

"The Shihouin are still keen to please you, then, even now they know what you intend to do?"

"The Head of the Clan takes too seriously the offer of combining our chemical research in order to strengthen the weakling that leads his Clan." Seimaru said scornfully. "I will marry the girl, and cement the alliance - Kai will do as he's told so long as Midori is here, and he's not without skills of his own."

"Perhaps the girl has some of her own, too."

"It matters little to me either way." Seimaru shrugged dismissively, and Midori felt a hot rush of indignant pride engulf her feline body. "She is pretty and she will provide enough entertainment to keep me from killing her - that is all she is to me. A puppet to satisfy Grandfather - with enough obnoxious pride to satisfy me as well."

"I doubt that the Shihouin would like their famed beauty to be so regarded." Misashi said lightly, and Seimaru snorted.

"She belongs to me now. It's not for them to care." He said simply. "And all the action is currently in District One, anyhow. I have Kai willing to do anything if he thinks it can benefit his family and protect his beloved sister, so her being here is a good thing, not a bad one. As for the smuggler Aitori, I find it interesting how the lower born degrees of some Clans will betray their families and their principles when its a matter of money. He's not foolish, not like you are, and he doesn't cling to idealism in the same way you do. He sees the reality - his Clan are weak and ours have plenty to make us strong. In the end, that will prevail. Whatever we do, Ojisama, it will be done as though the Shihouin were responsible. Aitori will see to it, after all, in every regard."

He laughed.

"I already disposed of one loose end in a local town with the help of a Shihouin blade." He added. "Courtesy of that man's obliging will to please. It won't be difficult to build on that, I'm sure. There is plenty to incriminate them, and I am already sowing those seeds. They're helping me without realising it in so many ways its almost painful to watch. When they fall, we will have everything they leave behind. Their research. Their land...through my marriage to Midori, District Two will also become the domain of our Clan, sure enough."

"Midori-dono?" Misashi murmured. "But unless I'm mistaken, Midori-dono's claim is only fourth in line..."

"Yes, but when the Council have the proof of chemical dabbling that Aitori can provide, those obstacles will be removed." Seimaru said calmly, even as Midori's heart clenched in her chest. "Midori's Uncle, cousin, Father and older brother are all, after all, intertwined in that beyond hope of rescue. Midori will be the one to inherit, and what is hers will belong to me. You see? I have out-thought you, after all. "With that power we can challenge the Kuchiki or Shiba and bring reason back to Soul Society. Even if we fail to kill Genryuusai, we will gain enough through the Shihouin's disgrace to change our influence and improve our position. You can kiss your ideals goodbye. When I am Head of this Clan, there will be no foolish whims granted to old women who get in the way, after all."

With that he swept out of the room, door banging behind him, and Midori found she could not move, still reeling from the shock of his words.

"You should come out now, Shadow-cat of the Shihouin." Misashi's voice startled her from her daze, and she raised her feline head to his pale eyes, eying him in consternation as he reached down to coax her from her hiding place.

"Yes, I know who you are." He murmured. "And I knew you were listening, so I wanted to make sure you heard everything for yourself."

Midori hesitated for a moment and Misashi smiled.

"Seimaru is dangerous, and as deluded as my Father." He said simply. "He can't see how the world is changing. Your Clan are also guilty of that, though, and it will be the ruin of one or both of them if this goes on. Like you, I don't want to see that happen. There are people here I care about, just as there are people in District Two who I'm sure you care for too."

He set her down on the ground.

"Excuse my familiarity of touch, Midori-sama." He added. "But I wanted you to see that I'm your ally. Seimaru doesn't know about your cat transformation, perhaps. But I spent some time in the past in District Two, and I heard the legend of the Shadow-cat - the technique passed from the most skilled woman of your Clan to her successor. This is the first time I've seen it for myself, perhaps. But it confirms for me what I suspected all along. You shouldn't be here - your family need you more."

Midori's eyes narrowed.

"What's in it for you?" She asked softly, her voice deep and throaty as she leapt up onto the desk, pawing at the discarded documents. "If eveything Seimaru said is true, why would it not be to your benefit to annexe our Clan and keep me here?"

Misashi paused for a moment, then he sighed.

"I have a wife and two children who are in grave danger if things continue this way." He said evenly. "I'm not weak, Midori-sama, and I've been dealing with my family's situation for a long time. But I worry for them. Mother has always shielded us but she is getting weaker, and she may not live the year out. When she dies, that protection will be gone and Father has never shown me any favour. My life may be forfeit and my family's likewise."

He shook his head as if to clear it.

"Hirata is shy and timid, and has had good reason to be fearful his whole life." He murmured. "Living in the shadow of all of this, knowing that at any moment the balance could shift. But he has gifts and so I sent him to Genryuusai-sama in the hope that maybe, somehow, he could learn to use them. Time is running out, though, for all of us. I can't protect my kin forever, either. And Hirata is just a boy, even now."

Midori gazed at him for a moment, seeing sincerity in his pale eyes, and slowly she nodded.

"I believe you, Misashi-sama." She said gravely. "And I thank you for your concern. You can guarantee I will not let this rest - on the pride of my Clan, I will not let them be so easily destroyed."

With that she jumped up onto the window-ledge, launching herself down into the outside undergrowth as she made her way back towards the annexe. As she ran, her resolve hardened inside of her.

_I need to leave here. I need to go to District One myself and stop whatever's happening there. Whatever the risk to me, I have to do it. Even if it puts Kai in danger. Because if I don't stop Aitori and expose his betrayal, the whole Clan might fall. And there's no way I'll ever allow that...even if it costs me my life!_


	18. Steel And The Shadow

**Chapter Seventeen: Steel and the Shadow**

For the next fortnight, as classes and preparations for the up-coming end of semester exams continued, Megumi's untimely death ceased to be talked about in the hallways. For Shunsui and his friends, it was an uneasy quiet – for though everything seemed to have returned to a sense of normality, they knew only too well that it was only on the surface and that there was still uncertainty in the air. Yet with nothing tangible to go on, they could do nothing but focus as best they could on their ongoing studies and hope that, somewhere or somehow, a clue would surface on its own. Shunsui in particular fretted about this, his promise to Megumi's departed soul still prominent in his mind. Yet even asking Genryuusai for permission to visit the local town had been unsuccessful for the aging Principal had told him that his interdict would only be lifted if he attained adequate scores on all his assessments.

For Sora and Mitsuki, who had managed to inveigle themselves into Aitori's office on the pretence of borrowing academic texts, the hunt for the sword had also come up empty. Whilst Sora had asked the teacher question after question about their Hohou syllabus, Mitsuki had done her best to sense Megumi's fading aura – but although a blade hung beside Aitori's desk, it was clean of any trace of blood or spiritual remnants, and from the dust that lined its hilt, it had not been moved for some time. Both girls had reported back to Juushirou apologetic and disappointed by their failure, Mitsuki even admitting that it was possible the sword had been discarded after the fervour had died down.

Juushirou himself had had little luck in the library, for texts on forbidden chemicals were not easily accessible to first year students. Though he knew that there were probably texts in the restricted section, First Years were not permitted access without a written slip from a teacher, and, with Onoe's suspicions still foremost in his mind, Juushirou was loath to draw attention to himself and his reading interests in this way. Though Kai's sharp words had all but dampened the rumours from spreading across the school, Juushirou was not foolish enough to believe it was completely forgotten, and as a result had focused doubly hard on controlling his reiatsu during class practices in order to prevent a flare-up of his symptoms and a revival of the boy's allegations.

Enishi had rejoined his companions after his time in isolation, sheepish but unrepentant, and with both he and Juushirou having missing studies to catch up on, the mystery of the dead girl in the forest slipped back to second place in people's minds. With her buried body, she had disappeared – and only Shunsui's ongoing apprehensions and Juushirou's nagging sense of injustice had managed to keep her existence real.

And then, the following Sunday, everything changed.

The day had begun innocently enough, with Enishi making what had become a habitual errand of collecting letters to deliver to his dorm-mates before breakfast. As the sturdy student had distributed the messages in his usual, careless way, Shunsui's sharp eyes caught sight of a particular seal on his letter, and he let out an exclamation, scooping it up and loosing the wax with eagerness.

"Shunsui?" Juushirou glanced up from his own letter, shooting his friend a quizzical glance. "What is it? Who's that letter from – something you've waited for?"

"Tokutarou-nii. It's his seal." Shunsui agreed, unrolling the letter and skimming his gaze down the rows of scrawling kanji that his older brother dared to call writing. "You know, I skipped more classes in kanji than he seems to have ever sat, judging by this – God only knows what kind of calligraphy lessons the Shiba-ke go in for. No wonder he hates correspondence so much!"

"Tokutarou-dono?" Ryuu looked startled. "Are you that close to your brother that you're so excited to hear from him, Kyouraku?"

"Not especially. It's not that." Shunsui's eyes glittered, "Just I wrote to him what seems ages ago. And he's finally answered that letter."

"_That _letter?" Juushirou frowned, setting his message from Chihiro aside. "You mean…Kyouko-san?"

"Yes." Shunsui agreed. "And it seems he's found her."

He grinned.

"He writes, "_The girl 'Kyouko' whom you wrote to me regarding has been located in one of the border hamlets and has been brought to the estate as you requested. Shunsui, I've only done this because your message came from Genryuusai-sensei's messenger – I'd better not discover that she's with child or any such thing because if I do, you will regret the next time we meet_."

"Your brother doesn't pull any punches, does he?" Enishi remarked, and Shunsui grinned, shrugging his shoulders.

"Given how things were last we met, I don't blame him for his assumption." He said cheerfully. "The important thing is that Kyouko made it safely to District Eight and that Tokutarou-nii knows about her. That means whoever killed Megumi won't find it so easy to get their hands on her."

As he spoke, his gaze flitted casually in Kai's direction, for at his words the boy had tensed suddenly, a look of consternation in his golden eyes. Shunsui pursed his lips, reading the flickers of uncertainty across the boy's aura as he did so. Kai seemed to be engrossed in reading his own letter, but Shunsui knew that with the mention of Megumi's name, he had begun to listen wholeheartedly to his classmates' discussion.

He frowned.

_Well, fine then. If he's involved, then he'll understand that Kyouko has Kyouraku protection. And that was my reason for saying it so blatantly, after all._

Out loud he said,

"That's at least some good news."

"Kyouko is Megumi's friend, I trust?" Ryuu asked softly, and Shunsui nodded.

"The one who brought me the message that Megumi was in trouble." He agreed evenly. "I wrote to Tokutarou-nii the day after the incident, to tell him that a girl was heading to our land and that he was to seek her out. It went via Genryuusai-sensei's messenger, because that way there was no chance of anyone intercepting it or changing it on the way. It seemed safest, and I wanted to make sure that Kyouko wasn't the next victim. She _did_ see the people who took Megumi, after all. And she could probably identify them, if need be."

His gaze flitted to Kai once more, noting the faint pallor in the boy's cheeks.

"Though right now Yama-jii seems to have let it all fall into the shadows." He concluded. "So I suppose she won't be called on to do that. Either way, though, I asked Tokutarou-nii to do what he could to help her either way."

"That's probably why he thinks you've got her with child." Ryuu said archly. "Otherwise why would you show such concern to a random District girl with an unseemly chemical habit and no connections or family to claim her?"

"Because she was afraid, and because her life is as important as our lives are." Shunsui said simply, setting the letter down. "At least to me. Megumi's too. So if I couldn't save one girl – I'll protect the other as much as I can."

"Can she be helped, though, Shunsui?" Juushirou looked concerned. "If those chemicals are as addictive as you say…"

"In the case of Nobles hooked on them, there wasn't really a lot of hope." Enishi said softly. "Strong reiatsu and all of that, it hooked into them pretty badly. But if this girl was like Megumi, I guess there's probably a chance of it. She's not as powerful, after all. So there's not so much for it to lock into."

His eyes clouded.

"You might think Kyouraku's way of thinking is strange, Kuchiki, but I'm glad he's helping the girl." He added. "When you think about it, after all, Ukitake's District just like Megumi was. You don't think _his_ life is less important than ours, do you?"

Ryuu coloured, slowly shaking his head.

"I did." He admitted honestly, awkwardness in his gaze. "But I admit, I have come to change my mind."

Juushirou shot his dorm-mate a startled look, and Ryuu shrugged, obviously uncomfortable.

"Whether it be the Kuchiki blood diluted in your veins, Ukitake, or whether it be you yourself – I am at a loss to explain." He said slowly. "But I have come to understand why you were sent here. And I do not consider your life less important than ours. Not now."

Juushirou's lips twitched into a warm smile.

"Thank you, Kuchiki-kun." He said sincerely. "That means a lot, especially from you."

"What about you, Kai-kun?" Shunsui asked innocently. "Do you accept that Juu-kun belongs with the rest of us now or not?"

"I'm not interested in your baiting games, Kyouraku." Kai said stiffly, lowering his letter to glare at his classmate. "So do not try and lure me into them."

"You were listening to us, then. That's what I thought." Shunsui smiled benignly, and Kai's cheeks reddened as he realised he'd been caught out.

"You're rather too noisy to be overlooked." He said stiffly. "That's all."

"Shunsui, don't." Juushirou shook his head. "I'm not asking Shihouin-kun to like me or to accept me – it's up to him, after all."

Kai's brows knitted together, but he turned his attention back to his letter pointedly, and Shunsui sighed.

"What about your letters, Hirata-chan? Any news from the Endou-ke of late?" He asked, turning to the youngest member of the group. Hirata glanced up at the sound of his name, then slowly shook his head.

"Only my sister, begging me to come home." He said softly, setting his letter aside.

"You're close to your sister, Hirata?" Juushirou questioned, and Hirata smiled, nodding his head.

"I suppose so." He agreed. "She's only thirteen, and this is the first time since she was born that I've been so far away from her."

"I know the feeling." Juushirou grinned. "Reading about Chi-chan's news makes me happy, but it also makes me miss them all. She's good at painting a proper picture of things, and it makes me a little wistful for the sea and the forest in District Six."

"Your home is not far from the Rukongai divide, I believe." Ryuu observed, and Juushirou nodded.

"It's visible from the edge of our land." He agreed. "Father used to take me up into the forest to train, and you could see across Soul Society for miles. I always wondered what kind of people lived in Rukongai – people from outside of Soul Society, right? People from the Real World."

"People who even rank beneath you in the social order, one might say." Kai put in snidely, and Shunsui grimaced, scooping up his cloak and tossing it in the other boy's direction.

"If you don't want to be sociable, don't be, but don't spoil the fun for the rest of us." He ordered.

"Well, it's well known the kind of people who live in Rukongai, if you happen to be Clan." Kai shrugged his shoulders. "Those who come from that world to this lacking in even the most basic of spiritual abilities. They are the lowest of the low. Vermin. That's all."

Shunsui pursed his lips.

"I disagree." He reflected. "I think we know too little about Rukongai. _And_ the people there. I don't think they're as you say, Shihouin. I think, just like there are people like Juu-kun here in Seireitei's lower levels, there are probably people like that in Rukongai, too. People fighting battles we can't begin to imagine."

"Then let them." Kai said simply. "Whatever their lives, they are unlike ours. That is all."

"I'd like to visit Rukongai." Juushirou murmured, and Enishi nodded.

"It sounds like an adventure, doesn't it?" He agreed. "Only Shinigami ever do, though. It'll depend if we manage to learn everything we should be learning and graduate properly."

"Ukitake will." Ryuu said frankly. "You, Houjou, should spend more time in the library if you wish to maintain your position in Class One. Especially since Kyouraku has begun turning up to classes and submitting work – lazy as he may be, I do not think him to be a complete idiot."

"Thank you, Ryuu-kun." Shunsui bowed his head in his companion's direction. "I take that as a compliment."

Before Ryuu could respond, however, there was a gasp from Kai's bunk, and Shunsui turned, noticing that his classmate had turned very pale, his fingers gripping the paper of his letter so hard that his knuckles almost appeared white. The clear shock and distress in the boy's golden eyes killed Shunsui's first instinct to tease and he frowned, meeting Juushirou's gaze across the room. There was consternation too in the District student's eyes and, after a moment of hesitation he got to his feet, approaching Kai's bed tentatively.

"Are you all right, Shihouin-kun?" He asked softly. "You've gone white as a ghost – are you ill?"

Kai's head shot up at his words, but he did not make his usual cutting rebuff, staring at Juushirou as if seeing a stranger. For a moment he didn't speak, then he wet his lips, shaking his head hurriedly as he began to fold the scrolled paper back and forth in his fingers.

"No. I…I'm fine. I'm all right. I'm fine."

"Ukitake's right." Enishi's brow knitted together. "You're a funny colour, Shihouin – what gives?"

"Bad news from home?" Shunsui added softly, and at those words, Kai looked once more stricken.

"I guess that's a yes." Shunsui bit his lip. "Though you're not going to tell us so, are you, Kai-kun?"

Kai was silent for a moment, then he wheeled around, glaring at Hirata with a mixture of despair and suspicion.

"_You_!" He exclaimed, waving the mangled paper in the boy's direction. "What have you said to them? What have you written home to that scheming kinsman of yours – what have you told them, dammit, about me!"

At his sudden tirade, Hirata's eyes became huge, and he shuffled back against the wall, holding his hands up in surrender.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" He protested. "Shihouin-kun, please – don't look at me like that! You're scaring me – I don't understand!"

"Stop it." Juushirou slipped in between them, placing himself protectively in front of Hirata as he met Kai's gaze. "Whatever's happened, it's not going to have anything to do with Hirata…now is it?"

"It may have _everything_ to do with him." Kai's voice was shaking now. "Everything and then some. Him and his poisonous, back-stabbing clan. Get out of my way, Ukitake. Get away from him! I want to know once and for all what he's doing here! I want to know what he wants with this school and with me!"

"Do you have any idea what he means, Hirata-chan?" Shunsui asked softly, and Hirata shook his head fervently.

"I don't know!" He exclaimed, distress clear in his pale blue eyes. "I've said it before – _I'm not my Clan_!"

"You snivel and hide and get them to protect you, but I'm not fooled by it." Kai snapped, clearly beyond rational thought by this point as he shoved Juushirou aside, bearing down towards Hirata once again. "You're an Endou, after all. Blood is thicker than water, in the end."

"Calm yourself, Shihouin." Ryuu said bluntly. "You are disgracing yourself and your clan with this disgusting display of temper."

"You shut up. You know nothing either." Kai snapped, lunging at Hirata but Juushirou was too quick for him and forced him back, anger in the boy's own hazel eyes as he pushed his classmate up against the dormitory wall.

"Whatever's upset you, Shihouin-kun, I'm not going to let you hurt Hirata." He said flatly, and Shunsui's eyes widened as he registered the sudden steeliness in his companion's aura. "Do you understand that? So do as Kuchiki-kun says and calm down."

"Get your hands off me, District boy!" Kai struggled, but Juushirou only tightened his grip, his resolution growing with every passing moment. Shunsui sat back against his pillows, watching the confrontation with interest. Unlike Enishi, who had flung himself into the fight with Onoe without a moment's rational thought, Juushirou was entirely in his wits and in control of the situation. His reiatsu flickered, but it did not flare out of hand, and though his grip was firm, it was a restraining hold only, and not intended to hurt his companion.

For the first time Shunsui truly realised that beneath Juushirou's deceptively fragile frame was a sinewy strength that had come about just as much by the boy's constant, determined struggles against his disease as it had from his training in the mountains near his home. For every time he had taken sick, after all, he had fought twice as hard to get well. And in that moment, for all of Kai's combat skill and pride, there was no doubt about who was in control.

"When you calm down." Juushirou said firmly now. "I can hold you like this for as long as you like, you know. And I will do, until I think you're not going to do anything we'll all regret. Sensei doesn't like unnecessary fighting, and nor do I. Hirata says he doesn't know what's upset you and so you should believe him. There's no proof, after all, that he's lying."

Kai's eyes became obstinate and stony for a moment, as he struggled to wrestle free, but Juushirou's grip did not waver.

"I have seven younger brothers and sisters." He said softly, his voice level and even as he met his classmate's gaze. "Hiro-kun is as tall as me and twice as sturdy, and I've come up against him when he's lost his temper and isn't acting in his senses. When he's like that, he's full of weaknesses, and in a rage there's no telling what he might do. So I can hold him back, if I have to, until he calms down. And I'll do the same to you, Shihouin-kun. While you're angry, your reiatsu is scattered. You can't fight me off, so do as I say instead."

Kai took a deep breath, but at last Juushirou's words seemed to have penetrated his skull, and as the rage drained out of his body he bit his lip, raising glittering, tear-filled eyes to his classmate's.

"I want to know what his family have done to my sister." He whispered. "Is that too much to ask?"

"Your_ sister_?" Enishi was startled, and Shunsui's eyes darkened.

"Midori-dono." He murmured, and Kai nodded.

"Something's happened to her?" Juushirou asked gently, and Kai shrugged his shoulders.

"Ask Hirata." He said bitterly. "Midori-neesama went to the Endou-ke at the beginning of Spring, to consolidate her engagement to Endou Seimaru and prepare for her marriage into their Clan. Now my brother writes that they can no longer contact her – that she's disappeared from District Seven and that nobody will tell them where she is or what's happened to her in the meantime."

"Disappeared?" Hirata whispered, shock in his own blue gaze, and Kai nodded.

"Don't pretend you don't know." He snapped, and Hirata shook his head.

"But I don't." He murmured. "I really don't, Shihouin-kun. That's the truth. Even if Seimaru-kun had done something to her…even then I wouldn't know."

"What do you mean, Hirata?" Ryuu demanded, and Hirata shrugged helplessly.

"My family are cloaking a feud that stems back to when my Father and my Uncle were children." He said softly, his expression troubled as he recounted his Clan's instability. "My Grandfather is head of the Clan now, and his favourite son was my Uncle, who died last year. Uncle had one son, Seimaru – who is heir to the Clan now."

He glanced at his blankets.

"Grandfather and Seimaru and my Uncle too always disliked Father, because Father wants the Endou-ke to work with the Council and other Noble Families, and they want to continue things the way they've been for generations." He whispered. "Father has been threatened several times, and when my sister and I were small, we'd often be snatched from our rooms by Uncle's men in order to twist my Father's arm on this vote or that one. All the time, Uncle would say that one day he'd get rid of the Endou-ke dead wood and begin afresh – one day, one day. But he died first. And now it's Seimaru who says it – that one by one he'll have us killed and stop Father's complaining forever."

Shunsui's eyes became grave and he slowly nodded his head.

"Brother versus brother for power in the Clan." He murmured, remembering once again the night that his Father had died. "I understand what you mean, Hirata-kun. I understand exactly what you mean."

"Father doesn't necessarily want the Clan, as such." Hirata shook his head. "But because he stands up and disagrees with things, he's become a target."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Despite all the threats, Father knows that so long as Grandmother is still alive, no one will touch us." He whispered. "Because Grandmother likes Father and everyone in the Clan is a little fearful of crossing her because of her ruthless reputation. But she's ill and has been for some time. She's old, and she won't live much longer. So Father sent me here to learn under Genryuusai-sensei. He knows there's danger coming in the Endou-ke. And he wants us to be strong enough to resist it, no matter what."

He got to his feet, meeting Kai's troubled, incredulous golden eyes with his blue ones.

"Father wants alliances with other Clans, and supported Midori-dono's marriage to Seimaru as a good thing." He whispered. "That's all I know, I promise. Father said Midori-dono was strong in her own right and might well be able to keep Seimaru's antics in check, after all. There's no reason for him - or me - to want to hurt her."

"Then _where is she_?" Kai demanded, and Hirata shook his head.

"I don't know." He repeated. "That's the truth, Shihouin-kun. I don't know."

Juushirou sighed, rubbing his temples.

"The more I hear about the Clans, the less I like them." He murmured. "I'm sorry, Hirata. I didn't realise things were so difficult for you at home. No wonder you were sent here so young – and that you were so worried about your family. Kuchiki-kun even told me how dangerous Seimaru-sama was – but I didn't really think about it in terms of how he might be dangerous to you."

"From what little I know of Seimaru-dono, he is not a man to be trusted." Ryuu said frankly. "It would not surprise me at all to hear his fiancée had disappeared. Most likely she displeased him in some way, and so he disposed of her."

"Kuchiki-kun!" Juushirou's eyes widened, even as a shudder went through Kai's body at his classmate's tactless words. "Don't say things like that! Shihouin-kun's worried about her – she's not just a name to him, but his flesh and blood!"

"She's a Shihouin. They deal in flesh and blood." Ryuu pointed out, but Shunsui shook his head.

"Even so, Kuchiki, Juu's right." He said softly. "Like Kyouko's life matters, and Megumi's mattered, Midori-dono's matters too."

Kai shot him a startled, stricken look, and Shunsui offered him a smile.

"I doubt that Seimaru is enough of a fool to murder his fiancée, however." He said frankly. "Don't look so frightened, Kai-kun. Your sister is a shadow, isn't she? Maybe she slipped into the darkness of her own accord."

"Then why hasn't she contacted Father?" Kai demanded. "He says she's not been heard from in just more than two weeks, and no trace has been seen of her at the Endou estate, either! Two weeks is long enough to get a message back and forth even through underground channels, and Midori-neesama must have known where the Shihouin contacts were in District Seven. If she was safe, why wouldn't she use them?"

"Because it wasn't safe to do so, probably." Shunsui shrugged.

"You really love your sister, don't you, Shihouin-kun?" Juushirou asked, and Kai nodded, the last of his fight draining from his body as he sank down onto his bunk, burying his head in his hands.

"All of the Clan do." He whispered. "She's not just a shadow, she's _the_ shadow. She's the pride of our family in so many ways. That's why it was agreed, this stupid engagement business. That's why she was considered a worthy match for that creature Seimaru, even though he's not even close to being her equal. I didn't want her to go and she didn't want to go, but that's how it is, when you're Clan. Your family calls and you answer. You don't understand that, Ukitake. You don't understand the ties Clan have on one another – or what those ties can make you capable of."

"Such as the murder of the town wench Megumi, perhaps?" Ryuu asked archly, and Kai's head shot up, staring at Ryuu in dismay.

"I didn't kill anyone!" He protested, and Ryuu's eyes narrowed.

"The girl was killed by a Shihouin's blade, though." He reflected. "Exactly the kind of low deed your Clan might stoop to."

"Megumi wasn't killed by a Shihouin, Kuchiki." Shunsui interjected. "I was pretty sure about that before, but I'm even more sure about it now. It might've been meant to look that way, but it wasn't what happened. Was it, Kai-kun? Your kin didn't order Megumi to be killed."

"I know nothing about any common girl's murder." Kai said coldly. "And right now I have no reason to think about that. My sister is in some kind of trouble, clearly, and I must do something to help find her. If the Clan discover her and she has run away, she may be hurt for abandoning her promise to the Endou-ke. And if she has been hurt by the Endou-ke, I must find a way to take my vengeance on Seimaru. I don't care about Megumi or her friends in District One, Kyouraku. I care about where Midori-neesama is!"

He made towards the door, but Juushirou reached out to stop him, grasping the sleeve of his robe as he did so.

"Shihouin-kun…wait." He said quietly, and Kai paused, turning to glare at him.

"What do _you_ want?" He demanded. "You've already pried enough out of me! This doesn't concern_ you_ in any way, shape or form, so let me go! I told you already, _you don't understand_!"

"I have two sisters, Shihouin-kun." Juushirou said frankly, not loosing his grip for one moment as he met Kai's golden eyes. "As well as five brothers. If anything happened to any one of them I'd be frantic, too. Whether you're Clan or you're not, it doesn't matter. Family ties are family ties. We all have people we love, after all."

Kai's eyes widened in disbelief, and Juushirou nodded.

"Megumi-san might have had family, too. She certainly had a friend who worried enough about her to come and look for help." He continued. "Shunsui and I know Megumi-san wasn't killed by a Shihouin, but she was killed by a Shihouin blade. Maybe you don't know anything about that, or maybe you do. I don't know. But it's possible that the same person who killed Megumi-san is involved in your sister's disappearance. And if you did know anything about Megumi-san, maybe it would help if you told us. Because we might know things you don't – and it might help you find Midori-sama more quickly."

"Juu-kun." Shunsui pursed his lips, inwardly impressed by his friend's forthright mode of attack, and Juushirou smiled.

"I don't like all this sneaking around." He said simply. "Shihouin-kun's been worrying about something for a long time, we all know that. Now Midori-sama's disappeared, well, I think it's obvious what he's been worrying about. And it's understandable, too. It's just proven to me that Shihouin-kun has family he cares for, just like I do. So if I can help him, I'd like to. And if he did know something about Megumi-san, I wouldn't be angry at him. Because I guess I'd keep any kind of secret to protect my family – if that was what I had to do."

"There he goes again." Ryuu looked disapproving. "Reaching out his hands into the flames like a fool, waiting to get them burnt."

"So far he doesn't seem too burnt to me." Shunsui said evenly. "No matter how many times he's waded in. It's a special gift of his, Ryuu-kun. Being nice to someone until he wears down their hostility."

Kai was silent for a long time, his gaze flitting suspiciously towards Hirata, who shook his head.

"I promise I don't know where Midori-dono is." He said softly. "I swear it. But if you want me to write to Father, I will. I'll ask for what news he has, even if it's difficult for him to relay it to me without getting Grandfather's attention."

Kai hesitated, then he shook his head.

"I believe you." He said heavily. "You are too much of a snivelling, hopeless brat to be of any use to a man like Seimaru, and you lack discrimination in your choice of friends. The way you cling to Ukitake is pitiful and demeaning to yourself and your Clan – there is no way a proud fool like that would tolerate you anywhere near him."

Hirata smiled slightly, and Shunsui was struck by the expression in his eyes.

"I think I probably dislike Seimaru-kun more than you do." The boy said softly. "And I am afraid of him. But I wouldn't work for him. I just stay out of his way."

"Besides, we all know all about it now, Shihouin." Enishi put in frankly. "You might as well give in and drop your barriers. If Hirata was a spy, you'd have landed yourself in it good and proper already, yelling at him the way you did. He's not as much of a weakling as you think he is – at least, judging by the scores he gets in class."

Kai sighed, but he seemed to realise he was beaten, for he nodded his head.

"My Clan did not kill her." He said softly, meeting Shunsui's gaze with what was almost a grudging kind of apology. "But I did know of her. And I did know she was killed. She was not a stranger to me, after all."

"Well, that was obvious enough." Shunsui said casually, shrugging his shoulders. "Your reaction when I said her name earlier was proof enough of that."

"You knew Megumi-san too, then, after all?" Juushirou asked, and Kai nodded.

"Briefly. Once or twice we had spoken." He agreed.

"Why would a Shihouin have an acquaintance like that?" Ryuu demanded, and Shunsui snorted.

"For someone who's top of the class, Ryuu-kun, you don't join dots very well." He said frankly, and Ryuu bristled.

"Will you stop calling me so familiarly, please?" He demanded, clearly put out. "I take no active interest in the actions of local townsfolk, so can I be blamed if I do not know every circumstance that you do?"

"Yes, if it puts you at a disadvantage." Shunsui said evenly. "Kai knew Megumi because his Clan knew Megumi. That's all. That's why a Shihouin blade was used to kill her. Because she was connected to the Shihouin-ke and it was meant to make it look like a Shihouin did it."

"But why?" Enishi demanded.

"Because none of the Shihouin could have done it, obviously." Shunsui shrugged. "Because they all had a convenient alibi at the time."

"Which would imply they were complicit in the occurrence." Ryuu said acidly. "To take such particular care over creating an alibi."

"I had nothing to do with her murder." Kai said stubbornly. "I knew her, and then I knew she'd died. I didn't know she was going to die until after she was already dead. _Kyouraku_ found her before I knew anything about it. It was nothing to do with me."

"Let's leave this for now." Juushirou suggested. "If Shihouin-kun says he didn't know Megumi-san was going to be killed, I believe him. And I'm glad that it's out in the open, too. Right now, though, there's nothing we can do for Megumi-san and nothing that needs to be done for Kyouko-san. So I want to help Shihouin-kun find out what happened to Midori-sama. If there's any way of doing that. Because he's worried about her, and she might be in trouble."

Kai shot him an incredulous look.

"But it has nothing to do with you."

"I know. I'm an interfering busybody." Juushirou grinned ruefully. "But I can't not want to, now. Not with having sisters of my own."

"So we're going to help Shihouin find out what happened to his sister?" Enishi asked, and Shunsui nodded.

"Looks that way." He agreed. "Listen here though, Kai-kun. I'm with Juu on this, where Megumi's death is concerned. I don't think you wanted her killed and I don't think you knew she was going to be. If I did, believe me, by now I'd have done something about it."

He frowned.

"But my mind's been ploughing over this for a while now, and even though there's no proof, I'm pretty sure I know what happened to her." He added. "From what Kyouko said to me, and from everything else, too. Your worries about your sister only strengthens those convictions – that someone had a lever on you, and maybe on your Clan, too."

He cast Hirata a bleak smile, taking in the consternation in the boy's blue gaze.

"You know what I'm thinking too, Hirata-chan. I can see it in your eyes, even though you won't say it and nor will I." He added. "But it also occurred to me that someone probably has betrayed the Shihouin from inside – someone or someone_s_ – I don't know, yet. But in order to get a Shihouin blade, someone must've been paid off. And that someone must've known what would happen with that blade – and let it go."

"But the Shihouin had an alibi, so what would it even matter?" Enishi demanded.

"It mattered because it meant attention was drawn towards the Shihouin." Juushirou murmured. "And the Shihouin-ke are meant to be smarter than that."

"Right." Shunsui nodded. "Noone inside the clan would be so foolish or haphazard unless they did it on purpose and for a good reason. The Shihouin have a reputation but they don't leave bodies lying around to be found by random school students, after all. Do they?"

"Kyouraku is correct." Ryuu said reluctantly. "Unless they wish to make a point, in which case there is no secrecy but a blatant claim to the crime as a show of strength and power."

Kai's expression became a mixture of horror and dismay, and he swallowed hard, digesting the truth in his classmate's words.

"Kai-kun, your Clan's connection to Megumi-san could destroy them, couldn't it?" Shunsui asked softly. "That's why so much has been happening in secret. Even though she was just a town girl, that's why she was killed how she was and why nothing's happened about it. Now Midori-dono's disappeared, _you're_ probably playing with fire, too. Especially if you keep the things you _do_ know a secret. Because either Midori-dono discovered something and left of her own accord, or she discovered something and was silenced. You know better than we do what kind of strength your sister has and which is the most likely option. But you need to think about it, too. Because this isn't a game. It's never been a game. Has it?"

Kai blanched, slowly shaking his head.

"I can't tell you what you want to know." He whispered. "Even if it's what you already know. Even if you ask me outright, I won't. So don't, Kyouraku. Because betraying the Clan brings a death sentence – for anyone, Shihouin or otherwise, who crosses that line."

"I think Shihouin-kun is protecting his family, too." Hirata murmured softly, and Shunsui turned, staring at the youngster in surprise.

"Hirata?"

"I think he's afraid for them, like I am for mine." Hirata said quietly. "If members of his Clan allied with Seimaru-kun and Grandfather, I can understand why he's afraid for Midori-dono's safety. I'm an Endou, after all. So I'll help to find Midori-dono, if I can. Because the Endou and the Shihouin are meant to be allies. And I'm not afraid of Shihouin-kun, not now I've seen how frightened he is for Midori-dono's safety."

"Just before everyone jumps on an excited bandwagon to save the world, we have examinations and assessments from next week." Ryuu said acidly. "And though it may have escaped people's notice, I believe the reason we are here is to learn how to be Shinigami – not revolutionise the way the Clan system works."

"And with a bump, we're all brought back to earth." Despite himself, Shunsui allowed himself a rueful smile. "Well? There it is, Shihouin. Will you let us help you? Because even if we're just your classmates, you know yourself that you can't just plough into this alone, don't you? You know better than any of us, in fact, what you're up against. Will you let us help you?"

Kai faltered for a moment, then,

"I don't see how you can. Any of you." He muttered.

"That's where you're wrong, though." Shunsui grinned. "Your sister was in District Seven, wasn't she? The Endou-ke's land. Neighbours of both Kuchiki and I."

"So?"

"My brother is half Shiba, which means he has a hook into the Clan grapevines as good as any you'll find." Shunsui continued. "And I need to write to him again, now I know he has Kyouko safely in his custody. I can ask him if he knows anything about Midori-dono, if you want. He'll probably be more interested in finding that out if he thinks the neighbours are up to something, after all. He's a touch suspicious of them when they draw too close to the border of District Eight, so he'll like an excuse to nose around."

"But what good will that do?" Kai demanded. "If your brother goes 'nosing around'?"

"What does Kyouraku Tokutarou have to do with the Shihouin-ke?" Shunsui asked evenly. "Nothing at all. But he and the Endou-ke bigwigs are mutually suspicious. It wouldn't be strange, therefore, for him to enquire after Midori-dono's health and so on. Noone outside of this room would know that the enquiry came from you in the first instance, would they? The Kyouraku and the Shihouin aren't allies. They were on opposite sides of the ballot. Why would a Kyouraku help a Shihouin?"

"Yes, why would they?" Kai's brow furrowed, and Shunsui grinned.

"Because Juu wants us to, and that's good enough for me." He said simply. "He wants to be friends, Kai-kun. Whether you like it or not, you better get used to it...you won't win that battle, so it's better you come quietly and let us help."

"Shunsui." Juushirou grimaced in his friend's direction, but Shunsui laughed.

"You know I'm right." He said casually. "Well? Shall I write the message? If I tell Yama-jii that I've heard from Nii-sama about Kyouko and want to reply to him post haste, he'll no doubt let me use his messenger a second time so it will be a secure delivery. And I won't be explicit. He'll understand what I want to know, that's all."

Kai pursed his lips. Then, at length, he bowed his head in Shunsui's direction.

"Thank you." He said sincerely, all trace of sarcasm or coldness gone from his voice. "I would be grateful."

"No problem. I'll do it today." Shunsui said lightly. "Then it'll be gone by evening. And District Eight is only just over the border. If Nii-sama realises the urgency, he'll reply right away. You won't have long to wait, and it's better than doing nothing."

"Should I also write home?" Hirata asked, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Your family is tentative enough as it is." He murmured. "For now, let's leave it with Nii-sama. He's useful, after all, in his own way."

Kai rubbed his temples, sinking back down onto his bed with a heavy sigh.

"Just because my Clan are assassins doesn't make me a killer, and I've never killed anyone, yet." He murmured. "I knew the order might come, of course, at some point in my life, but it hasn't - not yet. I don't think Uncle ordered the killing of the girl Megumi. I don't know if he even knew about her or it. But there is one thing...in return for your help, Kyouraku..."

He faltered, then,

"There was a Shihouin who knew Megumi would be killed." He said softly. "It wasn't me, and it wasn't Tomoyuki. But one of the Clan did. And he was the one who saw to it that all of us were accounted for. That's all."

Shunsui's eyes narrowed as he understood the implications in his classmate's words. He nodded.

"Thank you, Kai-kun." He responded gravely. "You've just confirmed something that's been bothering me for a while now."

Enishi sighed.

"This is all getting deep, dark and depressing." He reflected. "Shihouin, you look like you could use a hot bath and a good breakfast, and I know I could. There's about a half hour before the Sunday bell - so what say we all go to the bath-house, relax and drop this subject for a while? Till Kyouraku contacts his brother, there's not much we can do about Midori-dono except see if we hear anything through any other channels, after all."

"There's one thing we can do." Juushirou shook his head. "And a bath would be a good way to start it."

"Huh?" Enishi blinked at him, and Juushirou smiled.

"Interfere." He said ruefully. "Shihouin-kun, I know you don't like me very much, so if you don't want my help I won't make you accept it. But you should at least let Shunsui and the others help you if they can. Don't run away on your own any more, that's all. It's not like anyone wants you to face things alone - even if Clans have rivalries and so on outside of this place. This is Genryuusai-sensei's Academy and he wants us to learn to work together. So that's how it should be. No matter where we come from."

Kai eyed him for a moment, then he slowly shook his head.

"I thought from the beginning that you were strange. Dangerous, even." He murmured. "Something the Clans should beware and I was right. You _are _dangerous. No matter what people say or do, you keep on clinging to your ideals and you push forward, too, without letting anything hold you back. Your spiritual power is unnatural for your birth-level, yet it's somehow all your own. And I can't help but think it's because you don't let yourself be dissuaded from anything. Kyouraku's right, isn't he, in the end? Even if I persist in abusing and dismissing you for the rest of our acquaintance, if a crisis occurs, you'll still look to hold out a helping hand. Won't you?"

"I suppose so." Juushirou looked taken aback. "Does that make me seem strange or foolish? Or dangerous?"

"Undoubtedly naive." Ryuu muttered, and Shunsui chuckled.

"But his strategy is effective." He observed. "Because in this room, five Clans with very different political ideals are represented. Yet in the last few months, Juu's brought those five Clans almost to one accord, even though he wasn't born from any of them. That's why you're dangerous, Juu-kun. You might actually succeed in doing what Yama-jii's hoping for - making arrogant, proud Clansfolk work together instead of segregating and competing all the time!"

"I'm not trying to rebuild Soul Society." Juushirou reddened. "I just wanted Shihouin-kun to know that he doesn't have to do things on his own, that's all. I didn't even ask him to be my friend, or accept me, or any of those things. Just, if you're worried about something and you can't talk about it, it eats away at you. And that destroys you, in the end."

At his words, Shunsui bit his lip.

"Very true." He acknowledged gravely. "Well, Shihouin? Do you surrender, then, to Juu's terms?"

Kai sighed, a weary, resigned look entering his golden eyes.

"I want to know my sister is safe." he said softly. "At the moment, Kyouraku, nothing else is more important."

"Then let's do as Houjou-kun suggested, and head to the bath house. All _six_ of us, for once." Juushirou suggested, and Kai slowly nodded his head.

"Very well." He agreed cautiously. "But this conversation ends here. My sister will not be discussed outside of this room. Is that understood?"

"More than." Enishi assured him. "It's private, after all. None of us will say a word."

"Some of us can find several things far more interesting to talk about." Ryuu said candidly. "Such as what kind of assessments we're due to be facing in the weeks ahead."

"You really are determined to bring us back to the mundane, aren't you, Kuchiki?" Shunsui observed. "And on our free day, too. Tut-tut."

"The assessments are important." Ryuu bristled. "Especially for you. Doesn't your freedom depend on the results?"

"Sadly, yes." Shunsui sighed. "Which means I'll have to turn up and actually make sure I finish them. Such a pain. Oh well."

He shrugged, stretching his arms over his head.

"Before I think about sacrificing my day off to study, though, I'll write my letter to my brother." He said firmly. "Then we'll know all the sooner whatever there is to know about Shihouin Midori's disappearance."

* * *

The house was still empty and abandoned, dusty and delapidated in the same state it had been the day she had left the deserted town in search of pastures new.

Saku pushed back the splintering wood of the door, slipping into the main hallway and glancing around her for any sign of disturbance or trouble. A faint sense of sad nostalgia washed over her senses and she paused for a moment, ordering her thoughts back into their proper order.

She had never thought to come back here, after all. Yet here she was, less than two years on, recrossing the territory that she had so firmly turned her back on.

_Back on Kyouraku land._

Memories washed through her and she sighed, shaking her head to clear them. Memories were all she had of those times, after all - and though they were precious, they were also painful and bittersweet.

And for the time being, there was something more pressing on her attention.

She turned, poking her head back out into the darkening surrounds as she scanned the area for the familiar glint of feline gold eyes.

"The house appears empty, Mistress." She murmured, as she caught sight of a shadow in the darkness. "We can shelter the night here in safety. This town is long since abandoned, and I know this area well."

The cat leapt up onto the sill of the window, slipping through the broken slats in the shutter and into the room inside. She made no comment, but as Saku rejoined her, she felt somehow ashamed at allowing her beautiful, proud companion to see such dirty surroundings.

"I'm sorry, Midori-sama." She said softly. "To make you stay in a place such as this."

"No. It will do quite well." Midori responded in the hoarse, throaty tones of her feline form. "I'm tired and it's been a long day. It's not easy to slip into Kyouraku land from Seventh District, after all."

She stretched her legs, twitching her tail as she opened her jaws in a predatory yawn.

"If you hadn't known that soldier at the divide, we'd still be there now." She added. "Who was he, by the way? A former suitor, perhaps?"

"No, Mistress." Saku reddened, shaking her head fervently. "Nothing of that sort, I promise. He once lived in this town, that's all, when my father and I were here. We knew each other for about a year, and his father was the local apothecary, so I sometimes acquired medicine from him. That's all. Nothing more than that."

"I see." Midori reflected. "Well, either way, it was a fortunate coincidence. He knew that you were from District Eight, and he didn't suspect a black cat at your heels as anything more than a companion animal. So we are here, and about time too."

Her body glittered with light as she morphed back into her human form, and Saku slipped her cloak from her shoulders, offering it to her companion.

"It will be drafty here tonight, Mistress." She said softly. "Even though it is summer, the wind can pass through buildings like this with alarming ruthlessness. You should not be so unattired, else you might take sick."

"Then we'll have to make do with what we have." Midori's eyes became thoughtful as she slung the cloak around her shoulders, pulling it around her naked body. "This was your home, once, yes? This house belonged to you and your father?"

"Technically, I suppose, it still does." Saku nodded. "There are probably still garments of mine locked away upstairs. That is..."

"I think it would be well that I dressed in your class of clothing for the night." Midori agreed. "Shihouin finery would only give away to anyone who saw me who I was. And while I can travel through the day as the Shadow-cat, it takes enough of my spirit power to maintain my wits at that level. I would sooner relax in my true form, if I may."

She eyed her companion quizzically.

"You don't seem worried that this place may have been raided by thieves or vagabonds?" She observed, and Saku shook her head.

"This town was abandoned due to disease." She said soberly. "By anyone who could. There are a lot of superstitions about disease in these parts - though the cause was a contaminated water supply and Kyouraku-sama saw to it when he reclaimed this area that all the wells were cleared of any infection. This area is safe, because thieves in District Eight are prone to believing in spirits of plague dead haunting their old places of residence."

"I see." Midori looked amused. "Then their idiocy is to our advantage, it seems."

"I'll go at once and find you some clothing, Midori-sama." Saku suggested. "Then I'll light the fire in the grate, if I can, so we have some warmth."

"I can light a fire." Midori assured her.

"But...Mistress..." Saku faltered, and Midori smiled, reaching across to touch the girl's cheek.

"You do not have to do everything for me." She murmured. "I have been trained in many ways, after all. It's true that your help and knowledge so far has been invaluable to me - I have never been to District Eight, and have no particular connection with the Clan here to ask them for help. But I have spent time outside and I have built fires and caught my own food. All Shihouin children are trained in many arts, after all. We are assassins, are we not? Such things are a natural part of our childhood."

Saku blushed, nodding her head.

"I'm sorry." She murmured. "I didn't mean..."

"You have no reason to apologise to me." Midori shook her head. "Just go and get your clothing, and I will do what I can to make a fire."

"Yes, Mistress." Saku bowed, hurrying from the room and up the broken staircase to the upper landing. As she did so, a flashing memory shot across her senses, and she bit her lip, shaking her head to clear it.

_I will not remember Father, and I will not remember Shunsui. I won't let that take over from my duty now. I'm here because Midori-sama asked me to bring her across District Eight, and that's my duty now. Shunsui is the past. Father is dead. All of that is another lifetime ago. Foolish childhood games. But I'll be glad to leave District Eight again. Because so long as I'm here, I don't know when I might encounter someone from that Clan. And what the risk might be of meeting Shunsui himself._

She pushed open the door to what had once been her bed-chamber, finding that it was coated in dust but untouched since the day she had left. She had originally travelled light on her trip to District Seven, and so many of her old clothes were still in storage in the back of the battered old closet. After examining a few to see which were the least affected by insects or rodents infiltrating the property, she pulled a couple from their resting place, flinging them over her arm and hurrying back down the stairs. Though several of the steps were broken and dangerous, she did not misplace her footing once, and soon she was back in the main salon, dropping the garments down before her companion with a respectful bow.

Midori turned from where she had been carefully arranging what wood she could find in the fire's grate, and she smiled at the sight of her servant.

"Good work." She said approvingly, as a flicker of red light blazed briefly from her finger, licking up against the wood pile and casting it immediately alight. "And we have a fire, so we have warmth. I will change, I think, into what you have brought. At least then maybe I will attract less attention."

Saku bit her lip, and at her expression, Midori raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" She asked softly. "What is it, Saku? What troubles you?"

"Nothing, Midori-sama." Saku coloured. "Simply that...I think...even dressed in common clothing, people would be able to recognise that you were a Lady. And a Lady...of the Shihouin-ke. Forgive me, Mistress, but your appearance...is distinctive."

"Yes." Midori glanced at her arms pensively, nodding her head. "The Shihouin are, unfortunately, quite easy to pick out by those who know what to look for. But for now it's all I can do. I don't suppose we'll leave here until the morning, will we?"

She sighed, shaking her head.

"I had hoped to make quicker progress, but escaping District Seven was a headache in itself." She murmured. "It's taken us nearly a fortnight to do what should be possible in less than a day, thanks to all the diversions and set-backs we've encountered en route. I really didn't expect to have to spend so long simply hiding from Seimaru's patrols or tracking back the way we'd come to fool him – he's more persistent than I gave him credit for. I should've known that the moment I disappeared, he would send people to look for me. And that with his connections, he can cover the whole of the area in a very short time. You are extremely good at hiding, Saku."

She sighed.

"Even given our family's dubious relationship with the Kuchiki, I think we would have found it easier to slip into District Six, if it had simply been a matter of escaping. It seems the Kyouraku hold tight borders against the Endou and probably with good reason, too. But District Six is no good - since District One is our ultimate goal. Perhaps it would've been quicker to go that way around, but I did not want to run the risk of traipsing through my Clan's own land while not knowing what exactly is at stake."

She dropped the cloak to the floor, scooping up one of the garments and pulling it over her body, tying the sash at the waist with a shrug.

"This isn't what I'm used to, but it will suffice for the time being." She murmured. "At least in this District, if border security is that way, Seimaru must apply to Tokutarou-dono for permission to invade his land and search for me. I have heard, after all, that the Kyouraku have a strong military reputation and I believe Tokutarou-dono is in much the same vein as his forefathers when it comes to tactical skill. Besides, I cannot imagine Seimaru wanting to do that. To admit to a neighbour that his fiancee has disappeared...is somewhat embarrassing for a man like that."

She sighed, sinking down onto one of the motheaten cushions that littered the floor.

"I am tired, Saku." She murmured. "And worried for my family. I do not know what consequences might have fallen on them because of my disappearance, and I had hoped to make it to District One before this. How long do you think it will take us to cross this land into the next? I trust there won't be quite so much security at the border between Eight and One?"

Saku frowned.

"I have never been to District One, Mistress." She admitted. "But I think...I think Kyouraku-sama is better disposed towards them than he is towards District Seven. I do not think it will take us more than a day to cross the most narrow section of this District and I believe we will cross the border with far less trouble on that side than we have encountered so far."

"I can imagine that." Midori said wryly. "The Yamamoto-ke hold the respect of most of Seireitei, on account of Genryuusai-dono. And I think, perhaps, it is he we are going to meet. I am not clear on everything yet, but the more I think about what I heard in that chamber, the more I think I must apply to District One's Clan for help. Perhaps, if your judgment is right, we might reach their border by nightfall. I hope so, in any case. We have wasted far too much time already."

"Do you intend on contacting your own family, now you are safely outside of District Seven, Mistress?" Saku asked softly. "They must be worried about you."

"Yes, undoubtedly they must, yet I won't do so at this time." Midori shook her head. "I don't know who is and isn't a traitor, not yet. When we get to District One, Saku, I have words to have with Aitori Hideaki. I must discover from him the depths of his deceit to my Uncle. Once I have disposed of that problem, I will be able to see things more clearly. Doubtless if Aitori is the traitor Seimaru believes he is, I will be able to find the evidence I need in his possession. But if I start alerting Clan now, it may put Kai in danger or in a difficult position. You have to understand that things are more complicated than they seem. After all, Father does a lot of important secret work for the Clan. And it would be very bad for all of the Shihouin if that became public knowledge."

Saku frowned.

"I see."

"Do you?" Midori eyed her quizzically. "Perhaps you do. It's hard to know, Saku, what you see with those dark eyes of yours. They hold so many emotions, sometimes. Yet at others, they hold none at all."

"Midori-sama?" Saku stared at her companion in surprise, and Midori smiled.

"There was a young man, once, wasn't there?" She asked gently. "A young man from whom you chose to run. You do not like being back here, in case you meet him again - yet even so, because it's my wish, you come here. That's the kind of loyalty that made me bring you. You truly are in all respects my servant now, aren't you?"

"I am, Midori-sama." Saku agreed sadly. "And as for the other thing..."

She sighed, sinking down on the cushion opposite.

"It may be true that I loved someone, and that he loved me." She murmured. "But we were children who didn't understand anything about the world. Our parting was neither his fault nor mine, in the end. It was just that we'd challenged fate for far too long - and in the end, it divided us. We should never have met, nor formed the friendship we did. And because of it, we were punished. I left District Eight because I wanted a fresh chance to begin my life - and leave those thoughts behind."

"I see." Midori pursed her lips. "And did you?"

Saku shook her head slowly.

"My body left District Eight, but my heart wavers back here from time to time." She admitted. "But even if I did see him again, it would only be painful. For me and for him, I think. The last time we met, I saw such pain in his eyes that I never wanted to see it again. We belong to different places, and we have different futures. So I went to District Seven. And gained employment with the Endou-ke."

"Who gave you the most menial jobs, beat you when they needed someone to punish and allowed you the most cramped of sleeping quarters as your own." Midori said flatly. Saku flinched, nodding her head.

"Yes, Mistress."

"And then, of course, they gave you to me. Because I wasn't really wanted there either, and none of them could be bothered to wait on me properly." Midori sighed, stretching her hands over her head. "It fascinates me, Saku, that you are so much lower than I, yet I feel I understand your feelings far better than I should. And more, that you understand mine. I'm glad I chose to take you away with me. I should like it, if from now on, you were always by my side."

"Midori-sama?" Saku looked startled, and Midori grinned.

"You have promise, even despite your modest roots." She said pragmatically. "When things are resolved and I can return to District Two, I wish to take you with me as my own personal servant. Your loyalty to me is proven day by day, when you put yourself at risk to shield me, or help me sneak into land which obviously fills you with painful memories. Such devotion is rare, but I approve of it. And I would like to keep it, if I can."

"I'm already your servant till I die, Midori-sama." Saku held up her scarred hand as proof, running her finger over the half-healed wound. "And I do not break my promises easily. Father didn't raise me that way."

"Your family had some status, before his death?"

"Not status, but before Mother died, we were independant." Saku responded. "Father was a craftsman, and he and mother were of the lowest noble birth. We could support ourselves without entering service or depending on others for kindness or employment."

She sighed, shaking her head as a fleeting memory of a young boy in a torn kimono crossed her senses once more.

"But that was a long time ago. We were beholden to the Kyouraku-ke for some years, and then not. Things change."

"Then that is how you understand so well my way of seeing things." Midori's expression cleared. "Your family were helped by the Kyouraku-ke, and you encountered them directly. Therefore you understand better than most servants what the Clan classes can be like."

"I suppose so, Mistress."

"Tell me, then...did you like the Kyouraku-ke? What you saw of them - were they people in whom you could trust?"

"Like all families, Mistress, they had their good and their bad." Saku's eyes became shadowed. "But yes. I think...they were people who could be trusted. And even though Father and I were cast out on their orders...I do not hate them for it. I don't believe they will allow the Endou-ke to raid their land looking for you, either. I think...they are a Clan...who have honour."

Midori chuckled.

"Which the Endou are sorely lacking, you mean." She said appreciatively, and Saku frowned.

"I didn't..."

"You didn't say it, but it's nonetheless true." Midori's eyes twinkled. "And I won't argue with it."

Saku eyed her companion for a moment, then,

"Allow me to go and find food, Mistress." She said softly. "I know, I think, a place close by which will sell wares even at this late hour, and noone will look on me alone with any suspicion."

"All right." Midori agreed. "Tomorrow I want to cross as much of District Eight as we can, so we'll need to be up bright and early and we may not have time to stop for food then. Do what you can, Saku. I'll leave it to you."

Saku bowed, getting to her feet and slipping from the room, leaving the building through the broken doorway and heading down the rocky path that led to one of the nearby hamlets.

_I wish Midori-sama hadn't asked about the Kyouraku-ke. I can't explain to her what it makes me feel._

She sighed, rubbing her temples.

_But she did rescue me as much as I'm rescuing her, now. Midori-sama is proud and beautiful, and a Noble Lady of the highest birth. Yet she is not cruel to me, and I trust her. She has kindness, even in an assassin's heart...and since she came to the Endou-ke house, nobody has beaten or threatened me. To leave with her and risk being caught and killed was a preferable fate. So if she wishes me to remain by her side, I will do so. For as long as she needs me._

She gazed up at the stars, recognising constellations that she and Shunsui had picked out one by one from the roof of the old boathouse, years ago.

_You used to say I had freedom, Shunsui. But it's never been as true as you think. Still, even so, if I'm with Midori-sama, I can face that fact without fear. If I'm bound to her, so be it. District Two will be a long way from here, after all. And at last, maybe, I can break those shackles. I can let go of the claim you still have on part of my life…for both of our sakes. Likely by now you have forgotten about me - and all that's left is for me to forget about you. And then, when I have, everything will be as it should be. You in your place, and me, finally, in mine._

_---------------_

_**Author's Note:**_

Pk, I said weekend, but Friday's almost there, right?  


_And to anyone who celebrates - a very Happy Easter XD  
_


	19. Reidoku

**Chapter Eighteen: Reidoku**

"Another exam. _Another_ _exam_!"

Shunsui flopped down on the grass underneath the big willow tree, gazing up at his friend plaintively as he did so. "What are they trying to _do_ to us, Juu-kun? Kidou, Hohou, now Sakusen…that's _three_ in the space of two days, including the one to come this afternoon! And that doesn't even include the practical Kidou, Hohou and Kenjitsu assessments we had to do the day before, either. I swear, my brain can't take it in all of this heat!"

"You're just allergic to hard work." Juushirou told him unsympathetically. "We both know that you're capable of passing them, and once you have, you can get out of here and into town without being in trouble. So it's all right, isn't it? You can find out what you want to know about Megumi-san and go and spend time out with the rest of us. It'll be fine."

"Yeah. I suppose that's so." Shunsui sighed. "I just...I think you might be right. I _am_ allergic."

He fanned himself languidly.

"Just _thinking_ about them makes me feel faint and sick." He said morosely. "I'm sweating buckets at the thought of sitting down to write another paper this afternoon."

Juushirou chuckled, shaking his head as he dropped down on the grass beside him.

"I didn't notice it affecting your appetite at lunch just now." He teased, and Shunsui grimaced.

"Stress, that's all." He said frankly. "Comfort food. You should be more gentle with me, Juu. I'm not used to thinking like an academic."

"You could be following Houjou-kun and Hirata's example, and taking the time to look up things in the library." Juushirou suggested innocently. "Or you could be like Kuchiki-kun and shut yourself away in the dorm with piles of notes. But no, here you are, under a tree. That doesn't seem particularly stressful to me."

"You're not studying, either." Shunsui pointed out, and Juushirou shrugged.

"If I don't know it by now, I won't learn it in time." He said pragmatically. "I'm as caught up as I can be, and I like to have a clear head before I sit a test. Otherwise information gets garbled and confused in my brain. Besides, it's a nice day today. I like it in District One, now it's summer. It's not the coast, but it has a nice feel."

"There are more flowers in District Eight." Shunsui slipped his hands behind his head, gazing thoughtfully up at the gently swaying tree branches. "But I can't complain too much. Summer is a nice season, wherever you are. And not designed for working in, either."

"Did you hear back from Tokutarou-dono yet, by the way?" Juushirou questioned, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Tomorrow will be the earliest that I do." He responded. "Till then, there's not much we can do. It's not like Shihouin can ask Aitori either - is it?"

"You really think he's the one behind this, then, do you?"

"I think the Endou-ke probably had Megumi killed, but I think Aitori's the link in that chain." Shunsui responded evenly. "He's close enough on hand to be, and Kai pretty much said himself that there was a Shihouin who knew outside of him and Onoe. That leaves Aitori as the obvious suspect. We know he was involved with Megumi and have from the start. And if he's involved with Megumi, and Kai won't talk about it, I suspect he's also involved in chemicals. Kai's people too, most likely. For whatever reason of their own."

"So the Shihouin-ke are dealing in chemicals after all?"

"Yes. I think so." Shunsui nodded. "But I'm not sure what to do about it. We've no proof. Aitori's the only connection we have, and Kai isn't likely to tell us anything if people close to him are wrapped up in it. But the way he flew at Onoe for trying to start that rumour about you - it rang bells all over the place about the Shihouin and these drugs. And now Midori's disappeared, too."

"Do you think she's been hurt?"

"No. I think she probably disappeared by herself." Shunsui said honestly. "I don't think that the Endou could benefit from killing her. While they have her, they have the Shihouin where they want them. Midori's obviously pretty precious to the Clan. Kai said she was _the_ shadow, didn't he?"

"I didn't really know what that meant." Juushirou admitted, and Shunsui smiled.

"I don't know either, specifically." He owned. "Just that I've heard it said before. That a Shihouin is _the_ shadow, rather than just a shadow. I'm not sure when or where, but I'm sure it's something important and significant to their Clan in some way. Either way, I don't think Midori is the kind of girl who's going to get easily taken out by someone like Endou Seimaru - who I do know a little more of, being that he's a neighbour of mine. So no. I don't think she's in trouble in that way. But that she's taken off of her own accord does suggest she's found something out...and I don't know. I guess we wait and see what her next move is. And whether Nii-sama learns anything that can help us out."

"If she's alive, though, Shihouin-kun won't worry so much as he has been." Juushirou said softly.

"I think he probably has plenty still to worry about." Shunsui said categorically. "Dabbling in those chemicals carries with it a death sentence, Juu. Not for Kai, perhaps, and not for Midori, maybe, if she's been a puppet in all this negotiating. But anyone who has the taint of it hanging over them is in very real danger of facing a Council meeting and being condemned. If that's Kai's family, he's got plenty to be boiling over in that brain of his. Midori's disappearance is just part of it. And he can't talk about the rest, because even if he begins to trust us, saying it makes it a reality. And it creates witnesses. And most people disdain the use of those things. So he's stuck."

"Poor Shihouin-kun." Juushirou reflected. "His family are doing something and he can't do anything about it."

"Welcome to Clan life." Shunsui grinned.

"That reminds me." Juushirou cast his companion a glance. "When Hirata was talking about his family, you had that strange look on your face again. When you told him you understood - it seemed like you really did. Does that mean something like that happened in your Clan too?"

Shunsui smiled ruefully.

"You don't miss a trick, do you?" He reflected. "Yes. Sort of. I suppose."

"Well, I said I wasn't going to push you to talk about things you didn't want to." Juushirou leant up against the trunk of the tree. "But you did say you thought you might be able to tell me things, as time went on. And it bothers me, sometimes, when you look so completely haunted. Like when you're smiling and joking, it's not entirely real because somewhere at the core of it is the other you - the one who's fighting demons. Does that make sense?"

"Sometimes you scare me, Juu-kun." Shunsui admitted. "You're the only person I know who's ever seen so effectively through me. Well, with one possible exception, but that's beside the point. The way you calmly make these observations - I can't fool you, can I?"

"No." Juushirou smiled sweetly. "So you shouldn't try. Friends trust one another, after all."

"Meh." Shunsui rolled his eyes. "Fine. You win. I surrender. I'll tell you the whole torrid tale of my family, and then you'll think twice about ever coming to visit District Eight. All right?"

"Okay." Juushirou looked startled. "Though I was teasing a little there. I'm not meaning to force it out of you."

"It's fine. I'll tell you anyway." Shunsui shrugged. "Today seems as fitting a day as any other, to be honest. So I will."

"It has something to do with your Father, doesn't it?" Juushirou asked softly, and Shunsui nodded.

"He died when I was six." He said frankly. "But even before that I barely knew him. He was kind of just 'there', I suppose. Most of the time he was away from home. He drank a lot. Spent time with a lot of other women. Made my mother cry. Then when he was six, he was killed. And that was that."

Juushirou frowned, digesting this for a moment, and Shunsui shrugged his shoulders.

"Most of the time I suppose, it was like Father didn't really exist." He admitted. "But even so I've always felt connected to him. People often say I'm like him - in both good and bad ways. And the older I get, the more I see it for myself. I know that the things he did he did because he was trying to escape himself - that he hated the duties stamped down on him and couldn't forgive himself for the things he had to do. So he sank into depression and vice and never got a chance to escape."

He closed his eyes briefly.

"I almost did the same thing, before I came here, so I can't judge him on that." He murmured. "It's something that can happen far more easily than you might think."

"So you miss your Father?"

"There are a lot of things I wish I'd been able to talk to him about, but I don't know whether I miss him." Shunsui opened his eyes, meeting Juushirou's concerned hazel ones. "It's a detached kind of connection. A ghost at the periphery of my awareness, that's all. Not like you and your Father, Juu. When you were talking about him in the forest that time, I admit I was envious. Even though you lost him and it hurt like it did, you had that bond with him that you'll always be able to remember. I didn't have anything of my Father. And I couldn't really grieve for him, either. Even though I was there when he died. No, when he was killed. Even then, even though I hated it...I don't know that it was grief I felt."

He sighed, pulling himself up into a sitting position.

"My Father was killed by my Uncle." He said matter-of-factly. "Because Uncle wanted to claim the Clan and turn it back to its military roots. Father had let that slide, and Uncle took it personally. So he killed Father and took control. It was only meant to be till my brother came of age, but he had other ideas. He took me back with him to his estate, and tried to do his best to raise me the way he wanted me to be. So that when Tokutarou-nii came to inherit properly, I'd be able to challenge him. It wasn't a secret, you see, that I had powerful reiatsu. That I was probably stronger than Tokutarou-nii - because I was far more my Father's son."

"That's why you hate people knowing what you can do, isn't it?" Juushirou realised. "Because you're afraid of being used as a puppet or a target like that again."

"I suppose." Shunsui smiled. "Or I'm lazy. One or the other. A combination, maybe. It's hassle, in the end, trying to live up to high expectations. So I've never let myself be in that position if it could possibly be avoided."

He shrugged.

"I wouldn't fight Nii-sama, and I made it clear I never had any intention of doing it, even if he wanted to kill me." He said frankly. "I'm Father's son in that way, too. Better killed than to kill, and all of that. Fortunately for me, Tokutarou-nii's got a good amount of Shiba sense in with his Kyouraku pride. Plus, he's disposed to like me, I think, most of the time. So he came to get me, when he took control of the Clan. My Uncle took his own life two years later, after a rebellion he orchestrated failed. And peace was restored to District Eight."

"And you're Tokutarou-dono's heir."

"Yes. Reluctantly. Till he marries and produces spawn of his own." Shunsui nodded. "I like my family all right, Juu. It's not that I resent him or anything else, really. I just don't think they're like your family. The bond is different. It's a Clan bond, tied by blood, memory and pride. It's not a bond of love and trust in the same way yours is. Mother loves me, and I love her. Nii-sama and I knock along fine. But it's still...dictated by the Kyouraku name and position. So there are always barriers between us. No matter what."

"That's sad." Juushirou's eyes softened. "I'd realised that you had reasons for your Clan cynicism, but I never thought you'd seen your uncle kill your father right in front of you. And at six...that must've had a horrible impact on you, all in all."

"The funny thing is that I never told anyone I'd seen it, not till ten years had passed." Shunsui reflected. "I just went on as if nothing had happened, instead. Like it wasn't really real, somehow, even though it was."

He shrugged.

"I've never spoken about it much to anyone, even since then." He added. "It's just an archived memory somewhere in a closet full of skeletons gathering dust. It doesn't haunt me...not specifically. But I do regret that it happened and that I couldn't prevent it. I don't like kin killing kin. And I don't like that Clan feel they can do so without retribution. Murder shouldn't ever be considered just, in my opinion. That's why I didn't want to be a Shinigami. Because I didn't want to learn to kill."

He grinned ruefully.

"But Yama-jii's said to me now that the techniques have changed since Father's time." He added. "And that we'll learn to purify Hollows and send their clean spirits to Rukongai - not destroy them completely. That we'll use our power to rescue them, not to kill them. And if that's true - if it really can be done that way - maybe I can be a Shinigami after all. Maybe it is something I can do."

"I never thought about it in that way." Juushirou looked surprised. "About killing Hollows being a bad thing."

"When we met that one in the forest, it had the same aura of pain Father had when he died." Shunsui replied. "And I realised that was why Father hated killing them so much. Because he felt like he was killing himself each time he did it. But if there's a way to stop their pain...that using swords or whatever can do that - I think I'm starting to want to learn it. Somehow. Little by little."

He eyed his friend pensively.

"Your Father was killed by a Hollow, so you find it harder to see Hollows as anything but an enemy. I understand that." He said softly. "But my Father was killed by my Clan kin. So who's the true enemy, in the end? Anyone and everyone, if you give them too much ambition and power to rise above themselves."

"Sometimes, you know, when you say things, you sound a whole lot older than seventeen." Juushirou reflected, and Shunsui grinned.

"Someone else used to say that kind of thing to me, when I was younger." He acknowledged. "But you're wrong, Juu-kun. I'm not seventeen. Not any more."

"Not any…?" Juushirou stared at him, and Shunsui's grin widened.

"Today is my birthday." He said matter-of-factly. "If you celebrate such things. I don't, generally…but some people consider them important."

Juushirou's eyes widened.

"Oh!"

"Don't look like that." Shunsui scolded. "I told you. I don't really make a big deal out of it. Getting a year older means you'll have a year more of responsibility dropped on your head, that's all. Eighteen is a step closer to twenty and being unavoidably classed as an 'adult' in society. I'm not really excited about that prospect – so all in all, it's fine not to make a fuss over it."

He looked rueful.

"Since I can't picture Yama-jii letting me celebrate with a drink or a night on the town, I might as well just let it pass quietly."

"Sora said you were a Summer baby, but with everything that's happened…" Juushirou faltered, then he offered his friend a smile.

"In that case, Happy Birthday, Shunsui-kun." He said sincerely. "Even if it is spent sitting exams."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Shunsui groaned, burying his head in his hands. "The world is too cruel – not even a chance to lie in and enjoy the sunlight streaming through the dorm window!"

Juushirou chuckled.

"There's not usually much sunlight streaming anywhere when it gets around to my birthday." He reflected. "It's usually dark, cold and sometimes snowy first thing in the morning. The sea is choppy and unwelcoming and the trees all look like they've been frosted with white powder. But it's beautiful, somehow, that way too. A white world. Not like this, covered in flowers and green. It's more…silver and grey. But not bleak. I don't think of Winter as being bleak."

"Somehow, a white world seems to suit you." Shunsui teased, reaching over to ruffle Juushirou's tousled hair. "You're a snowflake yourself, if you come to think about it. I can imagine what your family must've thought, when you were born. That you were some kind of snow baby, if you were as pale then as you are now."

"Stop it!" Juushirou shifted free of his touch, sending him an irritated look. Then he relented, laughing as he shook his head. "Besides, you're wrong. I wasn't any kind of snow baby at all. Pale, maybe. But my hair was as dark as Kuchiki-kun's or Hirata-kun's when I was born. I looked no different from any other newborn baby, then."

"Really?" Despite himself, Shunsui was taken aback, and Juushirou nodded.

"My hair turned white the night my Father died." He said softly. "It was coincidence, but even so, it's how it was. Father died from his injuries three days after the Hollow's attack. I ran a high fever during those same three days. The night of the third, Father passed on. And the night of the third, my hair turned. It's never gone back. I cut it, when I came here, in the hope it might grow back black but…"

He shrugged.

"I'm guessing now my power's surged inside me, it's a one way trip." He said resignedly. "Unohana-sensei said that it had happened in the past, with people who'd had my illness whose hair had turned white. Some of them had survived and somewhat recovered, she'd said – but their hair had never returned to its original colour. And mine probably won't do, either. So Hiro-kun will call me Shiro-nii for the rest of eternity – whether I like it or not."

"Shiro…Shirou. He's quite a wit, isn't he, your younger brother?" Shunsui looked amused, and Juushirou nodded.

"He's the wild spirit of the family. The rebel with the hot temper who's always the first to get in trouble if there's a possible opportunity for him to do so." He agreed. "But Chi-chan and I keep him in order. They're two years younger than me, almost – but because of my health being how it is, I suppose, we've always been close. Being half-siblings or whatever has never made a difference. I know Chi-chan and Hiro-kun both feel it's their job to look out for me, even if I don't need it. Especially since Father died, because I was…fragile, then."

He sighed, looking wistful.

"In return, though, I've always been their Nii-chan…if they've needed help, advice, or even just calming down, I've always tried to do my best. So it's not that it bothers me, if Hiro-kun calls me Shiro-nii. I'm used to it. I just did hope my hair would go back…because I look even less like one of the family with my hair this way."

"You don't look like your siblings at all, then?" Shunsui asked, and Juushirou shrugged.

"I have Father's eyes, but I'm told I look more like Mother in a lot of ways." He replied. "Especially as I've got older. I don't mind, except that I never knew her, whereas Father I looked up to more than anything. And no one ever makes me feel like it's only a half-blooded relationship – but it would be nice, if I looked a little more like part of the family. As it is, it's only really my eyes that make me match."

"They're nice eyes, though. You should use them more effectively." Shunsui's expression became wicked, and Juushirou laughed.

"You never miss a chance to tease me, do you?" He remarked, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Even though you fight back so well, it's hard to resist." He admitted. "Maybe that makes it more fun. Who knows?"

He settled himself more comfortably on the grass.

"But there is a serious note to it too, Juu-kun. I know I tease you about it, but even if you think you're off the market, I'm not sure everyone else feels the same way."

"I beg your pardon?" Juushirou blinked, and Shunsui smiled.

"That's all I'm saying." He said sweetly, pulling himself to his feet and dusting the stray flower petals and leaves from his _hakama_. "Because that was the bell, and Yama-jii said anyone turning up late would lose ten marks right off the bat. Normally I wouldn't care, but I have a feeling my staying here is probably based on those results…so this time I'm not going to tick him off if I can help it."

"Are you going home for the Summer break?" Juushirou asked, as they made their way towards the main school building with the droves of other students. "We've results at the end of this week, then another week, and after that its ten days without classes. You're practically on the doorstep of District Eight so I suppose you're going to see your Mother and brother and so on?"

"Nope." Shunsui shook his head. "Nii-sama told me he didn't want me home till I'd had a year of Yama-jii's indoctrination and could hopefully act like a decent member of society. That's almost an exact quote, too. He got strict with me – I s'pose he figures there are bigger temptations at home than there are likely to be at school."

"So you won't go home till the Spring?" Juushirou looked surprised, and Shunsui nodded.

"Something like that." He agreed. "It's fine, though. I'm not homesick and I don't mind. Here or there, it doesn't worry me."

He cast his friend a smile. "What about you?"

"Not sure, yet." Juushirou admitted. "I want to, of course…but District Six is further and travelling there is expensive when it's for such a short period of time. My home is coastal, and closer to the border of Fifth District than Seventh. If I travel even on without stopping anywhere overnight it's about two days each way, so that would leave less than a week with my family. And Okaasama would probably rather I didn't try and do it that way – although Kamikura-sensei and I did so coming down, I'd be on my own this time and she'd prefer me not to push myself by trying to sleep in a hired carriage instead of taking the night in a _ryokan_ somewhere en route. I don't want to burden them with the expenses for things like that so…maybe not. I miss them…but…when Winter sets in and the snow comes down, I suppose I'll more want to be at home. And it's a longer break then, because of the weather. Almost a month together, in fact. So I'll probably hold out till then."

"Better hope we won't get snowed in then." Shunsui advised. "But if you're staying, that suits me too. I don't mind being here on my own, but it'll be more fun if you stay too."

"I'm sure we won't be the only ones." Juushirou reflected. "Houjou-kun lives nearby – 50 _ri_, didn't he say? So he'll be able to get home easily. But I wonder about Hirata, now he's mentioned his family's situation. And District Six is as far for Kuchiki-kun as it is for me…even if he doesn't have the same worries about expense that I do."

"Plus then there's Shihouin." Shunsui added, raising a hand to indicate their classmate as he trudged towards the school building. "I wonder if he'll go home. It's next door for him too, in essence – but will he want to, with things the way they are?"

"I suppose that maybe depends on the news we get from your brother." Juushirou said gravely. "Providing there's any to get."

* * *

"And that's today's report, Tokutarou-sama."

Tokutarou leant back on his heels, eying his chief retainer with a pensive, resigned look on his handsome features. It was still only just after breakfast, yet already his desk was cluttered with household reports and tenancy agreements, and he knew that it was going to be another long day fine-tuning and sifting the haphazard records that his spiteful Uncle had left behind. Many documents dated back to his Father's time, and if Tokutarou was honest, these were in even more disarray than the ones bequeathed him by his usurping Uncle. The Kyouraku-ke may be once more on the rise, but there was still a long way to go.

And then, of course, there was his brother. He frowned, pursing his lips.

"What about the girl, Yasuhiro? This Kyouko girl. Have we established any more information from her about what reason Shunsui sent her to us?"

"She has spoken little, my Lord, even to the maidservants in whose company you've placed her." Yasuhiro said gravely. "When she has spoken, it has been in gratitude to my Lord and to Shunsui-sama for their kindness in helping her. She seems to be greatly afraid of something – particularly of leaving the servant quarters and venturing outside. But it seems…"

He hesitated, then,

"It seems, my Lord, that there is no fear of her being with child." He said softly. "Though it is true that she has not been entirely well since her arrival here, your physician has seen her and has confirmed that her words are true. Shunsui-sama appears to have rescued her from a dangerous situation – but their relationship does not appear to go further than that."

Tokutarou sighed, rubbing his temples as relief flooded through him.

"Thank you." He said gravely. "And for your discretion also, Yasuhiro. Though I want to trust my brother, I find it difficult to understand his reasoning this time. What this girl is afraid of, and why he should be so concerned about us providing her with sanctuary. Yet I will, all the same…because if it isn't a matter of his social mistake, it must be something else. And difficult as he can be, my brother has all of Father's wit and perception. So I suspect that there must be something behind it. Even if I don't fully understand what that something is."

"My Lord, there is also a messenger without – a man from the Endou-ke, it seems." Yasuhiro continued, and Tokutarou looked surprised.

"_Another_ missive from Seimaru-dono?" He asked. "Does he intend to demand access to my land once more, in order to search for his 'missing person'?"

"I don't know, my Lord." Yasuhiro admitted. "But it seems our men let him pass through the border unmolested. I do not know by whose authority he comes or on what errand. But he has submitted his weapons to our retainers and seeks an audience with you at once. Would you see him?"

"I suppose I have no choice." Tokutarou sighed. "Little as I like the Endou-ke or their ways, if he has submitted his weapons and come this far I probably ought to hear him out. Very well, Yasuhiro. Let him come in. And also, one more thing, too."

He spread his hands.

"I would like to see the girl as well, some time today." He added. "The Kyouko girl. I wish to speak to her, face to face, and see what I can learn."

"Yes, my Lord." Yasuhiro bowed his acknowledgement, withdrawing from the chamber and as the door slid softly shut behind him, Tokutarou got to his feet, moving to the window of the chamber as he ran things over in his head.

_Shunsui, what are you about this time?_

His eyes narrowed as he considered his brother's cryptic message.

_First the girl, then out of the blue a question regarding the whereabouts of Shihouin Midori. Something is clearly afoot, yet you've not told me what I should be looking out for. Seimaru's sudden eagerness to invade District Eight probably connects to it as well. Is the missing person he's seeking Shihouin Midori? Logic dictates that it must be. In which case, Shunsui, it doesn't seem like she's still in the Endou-ke's hands. But why would you be concerned about something like that? The Kyouraku and the Shihouin aren't exactly allies, whereas the Shihouin and Endou are. What is going on?_

"Tokutarou-sama, my apologies for interrupting you so impolitely, but I have been charged to bring a message, and to disclose it to none but you."

The door slid back once more, and Tokutarou turned, casting the courier a resigned look as he took in the colours on the man's robes.

"Another message?" He murmured softly. "Two communications in as many days from our neighbours in District Seven – I didn't realise they were so keen on forming friendly relations."

"If you please, sir, my name is Kibana, and I'm the personal servant of Endou Misashi-sama." The man bowed his head once more, slipping his fingers into his _obi_ and pulling out the distinctive carved figure of the Endou crest, engraved as it was with the characters for Misashi's name. "This message he bade me bring you in person, for fear of anyone intercepting it along the way."

"From Misashi-dono?" Tokutarou's expression grew thoughtful and he crossed the room towards his guest, sinking down once more behind his desk. "And not Seimaru-dono himself?"

"If you please, my Lord, the message I bring has no connection to Seimaru-sama whatsoever." Kibana shook his head. "It is a missive from my master direct. That is all."

"I see." Tokutarou digested this carefully. "Then it is of such urgency you feel I should read it straight away, and not delay it until I have finished the tricky business of assigning land to hopeful tenants?"

"If you will indulge me, Tokutarou-sama, my master would be most grateful." Kibana bowed again. "Only he has great fears that time is already slipping away – and he has only just found the opportunity to send this message."

"You seem to have crossed the border remarkably easily, Kibana." Tokutarou commented, even as he held out his hand for the small black casket that held the rolled up scroll. "I don't make it a habit of inviting Endou messengers into my territory – the last that came came with the armed escort of my soldiers. How is it, pray, that you managed to slip by without such antics?"

"With respect, sir, I am not a citizen of District Seven by birth." Kibana bowed his head a third time, half making Tokutarou wonder if the man was loose at the waist. "I was once a retainer at your Lord Uncle's land towards the border, but when he rose his sword against you, I defected and fled to protect my wife and daughter from the bloodshed. I still carry the crest of the Kyouraku-ke with me when I travel – it was that which induced Misashi-sama to hire me as his personal retainer."

"Intriguing." Tokutarou commented. "That your foreign birth made you a target for Misashi-dono's attentions?"

"Yes, sir." Kibana bit his lip, but nodded. "It is a…complicated situation."

"Most things involving our neighbours seem to be complicated." Tokutarou said wryly, unrolling the letter and glancing at it briefly. "And your master wishes an immediate response? Or is your duty now discharged?"

"If you have a return message, I will gladly take it." Kibana agreed. "Misashi-sama said that you would probably give one, on seeing his letter."

"I see." Tokutarou's brow furrowed. "Then stand silent for a moment, and let me read."

He turned his attention back to the letter, confusion growing with every line.

"_To the honourable Tokutarou-sama, leader of our good neighbours the Kyouraku-ke _[it read]

_Whilst it brings me no pleasure at all to trouble you with our political complications, in this matter I must seek your goodwill. It relates to the passage of a young girl from our land to your own. I am writing now simply because I am sure that the girl in question has now entered your land and is no longer in District Seven. Her name is Saku, I believe, and she is a maidservant formerly in the service of the Lady Midori, whose person has recently disappeared from our custody._

_A man I trust who flanks the border between us has passed me word that Saku is now in District Eight, which is also the land of her birth. I believe she is heading for District One. She does not travel alone, but takes with her a black cat with vivid golden eyes. I do not ask you to apprehend these travellers, nor interrogate them. But simply to allow them safe passage through your land – for the errand they are sent on is one of great importance._

_It would be a great relief to me if you would not disclose this information to my honoured nephew, Seimaru. He has much already to take in, with Midori-dono's unexpected disappearance. I would not wish him to become distracted at such a difficult time._

_With all the respect of the Endou-ke,_

_Endou Misashi_."

He set the scroll down, glancing at Kibana thoughtfully.

"How much of the contents of this letter do you know, Kibana?" He asked softly, and Kibana frowned.

"That it concerns a girl born in District Eight returning to her homeland." He said simply. "That is all."

"Then you may tell your master that any born in District Eight are welcome to return here without persecution by the Kyouraku-ke." Tokutarou rolled up the scroll, setting it to one side. "The girl will not be molested now she has returned to her motherland. Also, one more thing – tell him that I wish him and Seimaru-dono the best luck in resolving the matter of Midori-dono's strange disappearance. However, I would like it if Seimaru-dono did not demand quite so imperiously to enter my land to search for her. The matters of the Endou-ke are their own to resolve…there are no Shihouin in District Eight and I would not welcome them if they wished to enter. You can tell your master that, and his honoured nephew also. The girl called Saku belongs here. The Endou army and the girl from the Shihouin do not."

"Yes, sir." Kibana bowed his head, but there was a flicker of relief in his dark eyes. "Thank you. I will convey your words forthwith."

"See that you do." Tokutarou said frankly. "I wouldn't like other families to think we had forged an alliance with the Shihouin on the sly, or that we had had some part in the disappearance of Seimaru-dono's future bride."

As Kibana withdrew from the chamber, Tokutarou glanced at the scroll once more, pursing his lips as he considered its contents.

_Misashi-dono is not a foolish man. In fact, for an Endou, he's quite reasonable, really. I wonder why he'd be so concerned about a low-born servant girl. What did he mean about her errand…and why did he mention her pet, of all the stupid things! There must be a thousand stray cats in District Eight already – why would I care about a black one with…_

At this he faltered, his eyes widening as he grabbed up the scroll once more.

_She does not travel alone, but takes with her a black cat with vivid golden eyes._

_  
_The words jumped out of the page at him, as a sudden chill ran down his spine.

"A black cat with golden eyes." He murmured. "A euphemism, perhaps, to describe the missing daughter of the Shadow Clan? Dark skin, golden eyes – that must be his meaning. After all, he refers to them in the plural, yet how would I possibly interrogate a cat? He's not telling me that this Saku girl has fled back to her birthplace. He's telling me that she's fleeing District Seven with Shihouin Midori as her companion. And that somehow they've got through the border to our land."

He clenched his fists, half ready to summon the messenger back and order his retainers to search the District for the fugitives. Then, as Shunsui's own missive flickered through his thoughts, he paused.

_First the girl, Kyouko. Then you asked me something which I now know some part the answer. Shunsui-kun, is that why you wrote to me like this after all? Did you contact me about Shihouin Midori because you thought she'd be here, even if I knew nothing about it?_

He groaned, running his fingers through his thick hair.

_Your mother has always said you inherited Father's intuition that way. Maybe you should be the Head of the Clan after all – certainly you seem to see things far more quickly than I do. Still, though, why would you care about the safety of the Shihouin girl? These continuous messages are cryptic and frustrating._

He glanced at Misashi's letter for a third time.

"Heading for District One." He murmured. "Heading for where you are, Shunsui. And the Academy. Is that the connection? Kyouko is from District One, and she's fleeing frightened from something yet all you told me was that her life was in danger and that it must be protected at all costs. I thought I'd sent you to school – have I sent you into a hotbed of intrigue and danger instead?"

"Tokutarou-sama. The girl is here to see you now."

The voice of one of the maidservants brought his attention back to matters at hand, and he re-fastened the scroll, slipping it back into the black casket. He did not know if the stray could read, but there was no sense in taking unnecessary risks.

"Have her enter." He called, and the door slid back, as Lord and hostess faced one another properly for the first time.

For a moment there was a pause, then Kyouko dropped to the floor, prostrating herself before the startled Clan leader.

"You are Kyouko?" He asked, and the girl raised her head, meeting his gaze with hesitant, fearful ones of her own.

"Yes, sir." She whispered, and Tokutarou beckoned for her to come forward.

"I am glad you are here. I was about to send for you." He said gently. "Come stand before me, Kyouko. I don't understand why we're meeting in this way, but I'm sure the reason is a good one. And I hope, perhaps, you can give me a clearer idea of what it is."

Kyouko's features paled, but she stumbled to her feet, shuffling obediently forward and standing about a foot or two away from her companion. She was not tall, Tokutarou realised, nor particularly distinctive, and though she was pretty, he realised that it was a tragic kind of prettiness – the beauty of one whose soul had been scarred yet had struggled on regardless. She was pale, with shadowed eyes that indicated her ill health since she had arrived in District Eight and now, dressed in the simple robes of a serving wench, free of make-up and with her thick hair pulled back in a simple tail, she seemed very young indeed. Perhaps, he reflected, even as young as Shunsui himself.

"What is your full name, Kyouko?" He asked softly, and Kyouko looked startled.

"Harizono Kyouko, sir." She murmured, and Tokutarou nodded.

"And the Harizono-ke come from District One, correct?"

"Yes, sir. Though there's only me left, now. My family are all gone before me."

"Gone? All of them?"

"Yes sir. From plague in our village, sir." Kyouko agreed. "There's just me left now. I have no ties."

"Noone who might worry about you?"

Kyouko's expression became troubled.

"Only Megumi." She murmured. "My…my friend. She was like my sister. But…"

"You said 'was'." Tokutarou frowned. "Megumi is no longer around?"

"I don't know." Kyouko admitted faintly. "But I…I think…probably…she's dead."

Tokutarou's mind flitted back to a communication from his Shiba kin regarding a strange murder on Yamamoto land, and he frowned.

"Yes. Very probably that's true." He said gravely.

"Shunsui-sama…he told me…he'd try and help her." Kyouko said brokenly. "But I didn't…I wasn't sure…only I promised Megumi I'd go for help. And Shunsui-sama was the only one…Megumi said we could trust him. So I did. But even then…I thought it would be too late. Maybe in the end…I was running for my own life, because Megumi's…"

She faltered, as tears glittered on her lashes, and despite himself Tokutarou felt sorry for the girl. Gently he rested his hands on her shoulders, and she gazed up at him, wary and confused.

"I know you told this story to my retainers, also." He said quietly. "And that you have no romantic connection to my brother. This is true?"

"Y..yes sir." Kyouko nodded fervently. "Shunsui-sama…was kind to us. He talked to us and gave us coin when we needed help. He didn't treat us like…he wasn't…it wasn't like that. He kept his promises, so Megumi trusted him. And I…I trust him too. Because he said if I came here, you'd help me. And…and he was right. You have."

Relief flooded Tokutarou once more as he realised that, scared and fragile as she was, there was honesty in the young woman's tearful eyes.

"I will keep my brother's promise, yes." He agreed now. "Though I'd like to know what it is you were running away from. Shunsui wasn't able to give me details in his message, for fear of someone else reading it en route. But since you're now safely in my custody, I'd appreciate it from your own lips. What is the danger in District One that you are fleeing from?"

"I don't know enough to answer, sir." Kyouko said sadly. "I know it has something to do with dangerous people. A man with pale eyes and dark hair took Megumi and I from our home. She knew him, but I did not. And that's all I know. It was Megumi's business. I was just caught up in it by mistake. I escaped and Megumi told me to go to Shunsui for help. So I did. And that's all."

"Pale eyes. Dark hair." Tokutarou's eyes narrowed as an image of Seimaru flashed into his brain. "What an interesting coincidence."

"Sir?" Kyouko looked apprehensive, and Tokutarou shook his head.

"For the time being, that will keep." He said reflectively. "There is, after all, another matter I wish to ask you about."

Kyouko stared up at him with big, frightened eyes, and Tokutarou's lips thinned.

"You've been involved in the chemical underworld in District One, haven't you?" He asked quietly, and Kyouko flushed red, nodding her head.

"Y…yes sir." She admitted.

"I thought as much." Tokutarou sighed, then, "Dammit, Kyouko, do you understand what those things are? How many people's lives they've destroyed - and how difficult it makes things for me now, having you here when I know such a thing is happening just over the border rise?"

At his sudden frustrated outburst, Kyouko took a hesitant step back, bowing her head fervently before him.

"I'm sorry, sir." She murmured. "If...if it means you want me to leave, after all..."

"I want you to tell me the truth." Tokutarou forced his annoyance under his control, reaching across to raise the girl's face to his once more. "Those chemicals were designed for Nobility to use to power their own reiatsu to the next level, but all they did was cause madness, addiction and death. They were banned and should have been destroyed in all forms long ago - yet still they slip through the cracks and into society's lower levels. And to people like you, Kyouko...and I suppose, your friend Megumi."

Kyouko nodded wordlessly.

"My brother, did he know about this when he helped you?"

"I don't know." Kyouko admitted. "I don't know if Megumi ever told him, or if he knew by any other means."

She faltered, then seemed to gather the last scraps of her courage, facing the Lord bravely.

"Megumi was addicted to the chemicals when I first met her." She said shakily. "And she knew she was, but she didn't care. She said she had nothing else so it didn't matter if she had those. She did almost anything she could to get them - even though we were like sisters, they were still more important to her than I was. That's when she got into danger, I suppose. Because of the _reidoku_."

"_Reidoku_. Spirit poison. An apt street name for such debilitating potions." Tokutarou said grimly, and Kyouko nodded.

"I will not lie before you, my Lord." She murmured. "I too have used _reidoku_. But it wasn't...for me, it wasn't like Megumi was. My reiatsu and my body are both weak. Hers was stronger, and so she became addicted almost right away. But though I took it from time to time, I didn't value it over my life or over hers. She was the most important thing to me - like my true big sister since mine had gone. That is the truth, sir. By my life I swear it - I only resorted to it when times were particularly harsh."

"I see." Tokutarou frowned. "And since you have been here? After all, this process has been considerably stressful for you, I imagine."

"There are…no ways to get _reidoku_…in District Eight." Kyouko whispered. "And I don't…I don't want to touch them any more. Because of them, Megumi was probably murdered in a horrible way. And I hate it. I hate that! Please, Tokutarou-sama. Please believe me. I haven't taken anything since I've been in your care. Nothing at all, not even a drop!"

Tokutarou eyed her long and hard for a moment, seeing once more the sincerity in her gaze. He smiled.

"Then that is well." He told her. "Because I feel strongly about the use of such things, Kyouko. And I couldn't condone or tolerate such a trade spreading to this district. I don't know the ins and outs of how _reidoku_ is so readily available in a place like District One - but I won't have it spreading here if I can possibly help it."

"Megumi bought the drugs or traded them for services in the town where we lived." Kyouko reached up to wipe away the tears that had begun to trickle unbidden down her cheeks. "I know she's not important to you, sir, and that what happened to her means even less. But...but even if that's true, Shunsui-sama told me you'd be good to me and even though I'm so far beneath your notice, you have. So...so if I can tell you that as well..."

"You know where the chemicals come from?" Tokutarou asked sharply, and Kyouko nodded.

"I don't know who hurt Megumi and I, and how they were involved in anything else. It may not have had anything to do with _reidoku_ at all." She said shakily. "But I do know that the person Megumi got the chemicals from was a travelling rogue called Fujima Yatsuhiko. I too met with him on two or three occasions, although he had left the town before Megumi was...before all of that happened. He did that, from time to time, and travelled to other areas as well. It used to make Megumi angry and reckless, when she couldn't easily get what she wanted because he was away elsewhere."

"Fujima..."

"He was often with another man, when we saw them in town." Kyouko added softly. "A man called Aitori Hideaki. And Shunsui-sama knows him, because he...he's a teacher at the Academy."

"A teacher? Involved in dealing _reidoku_?" Tokutarou's gaped, and Kyouko shrugged.

"I never saw him sell drugs, though he used to pay Megumi regularly for services and I assumed that was sex." She said miserably. "Only now I don't know. Aitori-san did come to the town often, and he often had visitors, Megumi said - but I don't know if he was involved in anything else. I just knew that Fujima-san was one of his guests from time to time. Aitori-san has a house in the town - and Fujima-san often stayed there when he came from the East."

"From the East...into District One." Tokutarou's eyes became near slits. "The East being District Two. Shihouin land."

"Sir?" Kyouko looked apprehensive, and Tokutarou shook himself from his reverie, casting the girl a rueful smile.

"There are a lot of things you needn't bother about, now you're here." He said frankly. "I've offered you sanctuary and I believe in keeping my word. I will protect you, so long as you need protection - and the easiest way to do that is to keep you close at hand. Here are my terms, Harizono Kyouko, so listen well, okay?"

"Y...Yes, Tokutarou-sama?" Kyouko eyed him warily, and Tokutarou pursed his lips.

"On the understanding that _reidoku_ never enters this District by your hands, let alone this estate." He said softly. "I think the best place to hide you is in plain sight. I will send word through Yasuhiro that you are to be given simple accommodation among the serving staff, and from hereon in, act as though that was your true reason for coming here. You will be watched, for your safety as well as for mine. But I think that this is the best way to solve your situation, at least temporarily. Otherwise, there will be stories about your connection to my brother - and foolish as he can be, I'd rather not have the headache of that to deal with. Far better if we were to circulate that you were the kin of people who had once lived in District Eight - and that you've come here in search of work. All right?"

Kyouko paused, then bowed low before him.

"Thank you, Tokutarou-sama." She said softly, her voice shaking slightly with what Tokutarou realised was raw, open gratitude and relief.

"Then go. Report to Yasuhiro and tell him my instruction. He will see that everything is done according to my wishes." He told her simply. "Work hard, Kyouko. I believe in treating my staff fairly, and if you have no other place to go, proof of hard work may go a long way towards settling your future."

"Yes, sir!" Kyouko bowed fervently once more, then withdrew from the room, and Tokutarou could hear the clatter of her feet as she ran away down the hallway.  
Despite himself, he smiled.

_Lowborn, perhaps, and foolish in her choice of friends. But fortune has a lot to do with those choices. I understand a little more, Shunsui, now. You protected her because you knew already about this Aitori and it's all tied in with Shihouin Midori. Am I supposed to read into that, then, that the Shihouin-ke are involved in producing illegal drugs? Perhaps it's time I looked into it and found out. But in the meantime - I need to write an equally cryptic response so you know I've understood._

He sank down behind his table once more, pulling a sheet of clean parchment from his pile and picking up his brush.

_Perhaps this means you're using your brains for something, after all, little brother. Although I hope that, in all of this, you're not putting the welfare of local town girls above your own future prospects!_

* * *

"You know, I still don't really see why we need to do this." Shunsui cast his companion a resigned look, tying his _obi _more tightly around his waist as he shifted the shirt of his _hakama_ more comfortably into place. "I'm half-asleep, and barely even dressed. Why are we traipsing across school again?"

It was the end of the week, and an extra free day for the students as a reward for their hard exam work - yet even so, with results being posted at dawn that morning, Juushirou had dragged his classmates from their beds, determined to discover their fate all together.

For Shunsui, who hated early mornings, it had been a scramble to be ready by the time his companions were ready to go, and he had bemoaned the fact loudly, complaining that for once he had no Kitchen duty and would've liked a lie in.

But it had fallen on deaf ears, so in the end he had given in, a slight sigh of resignation passing his lips as he realised that Juushirou wasn't going to let up.

_He's really the only person who can make me do things, Nii-sama. It may sound funny, but it really is true._

"It's results day, of course." Juushirou cast his companion a grin now. "And I want to come because I'm really curious to see how we all made out. These are proper exams, after all - not tests and assessments. They're _ranking_ tests. And I want to see what happens when you actually study."

"I'm with Kyouraku. I'm easy either way." Enishi grimaced. "I'll find out soon enough whether I scraped into staying in Class One or I didn't...I don't need a rude awakening in front of people."

"They'll see it anyway, though, Houjou-kun." Hirata pointed out softly. "It's better to know at the same time as everyone else, isn't it?"

"Exactly." Juushirou beamed. "So we're going. Kuchiki-kun's already come down to check his results, after all. And Shihouin-kun..."

"Who knows where _he_ is?" Shunsui sighed. "I've a letter from Nii-sama to show him, but he was gone by the time I got up this morning, too. Maybe he had grades to check himself - but I can't imagine exams have been much on his mind as late."

"It looks like most of the school have turned out down here." Enishi reflected, gesturing to the crowd of students huddled around the big noticeboard as they entered the Great Hall. "Everyone's results are being posted at once - we'll never see anything at this rate."

"Shunsui! Shunsuuuii! Dammit, where are you!"

Before anyone could respond, the shrill sound of Sora's shrieking voice cut through the bustle of students gathered eagerly around the noticeboard, and as the girl herself became visible through the melee, Shunsui winced, covering his ears with his hands.

"Drop a decibel or three, Sora, please!" He exclaimed. "What's so exciting you have to shriek like a strangled chicken, anyway? I'm right here, not all the way in District Eight!"

"I've been looking for you all over the place." Sora told him sharply, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him forcibly towards the mass of students. "You've got to come see this. I want an explanation and so does everyone about what exactly's going on!"

"An explanation?" Shunsui echoed, even as he let himself be led towards the centre of the melee. "What kind of explanation?"

"Our results are up here." Was Sora's only reply, however, and as they approached, the cluster of First Year students parted, several of them staring at Shunsui and whispering to themselves as they did so. Shunsui frowned, his brow knitting together as he tried to interpret their odd reactions.

_Did I flunk out after all, then? Am I going to be sent down to Class Two?_

For a brief moment fear clenched his heart at this thought, and he smiled ruefully, realising that even in a few months he had become fond of his classmates.

_No. That won't do. I don't want to be moved down. Nii-sama, what's happening to me? At this rate when we meet again, you won't even know me at all._

"There. That. Look at that." Sora tugged on the sleeve of his _hakama_, pulling him back to reality, and he obediently raised his gaze, following the line of her hand to the boards above their heads.

As he did so, he heard Enishi's gasp of surprise from behind him, and he realised that despite Sora's headlong flight, his companions had caught him up.

He frowned, staring at the board as he struggled to take in what he was seeing.

There, in bright chalk letters, were the four characters that made up his name. But more than that, above them was a number. And, as he stared at it, he felt a strange, giddy sense of achievement wash through him.

The number was one.

"I _knew_ it." Juushirou's voice came from his left side, and he turned, offering his friend a rueful smile.

"Did you?" He asked. "I didn't, so why would you?"

"Because I know its not the first time." Juushirou shrugged. "You're just putting yourself back where you should be. And that's not surprising at all. I knew you could do it if you tried, Shunsui-kun."

"Wait a minute." Sora held up her hands. "Are you serious? Juushirou, you're not shocked? This guy's skived classes, slept through them and done basically nothing for most of the term. Doesn't it bother you that he's come top? He's pipped you by three marks, and you've worked like crazy for the whole of the term so far!"

"I _have_ to work hard." Juushirou cast her a grin. "I have to control my reiatsu and it's not easy to do, yet. But Shunsui's much more naturally talented than me that way, I think. He picks things up, even if it seems like he doesn't."

"Well, I screwed up good and proper now, because the whole world knows it instead of just you." Shunsui clicked his tongue against his teeth absently, though inwardly he felt a surge of unfamiliar pride in his own achievement. "Ah well. I suppose it can't be helped. I'm not good at messing up exam results, I guess."

"Why would you _want_ to?" Enishi sent him a bewildered look, and Shunsui grinned.

"Lazy, I guess." He admitted. "People expect you to do well if you do well once. Mind you..."

"Mind you, this is twice." Juushirou said innocently, and Sora's brow furrowed.

"Twice?"

"Juu, did you_ have_ to mention that in front of her?" Shunsui looked plaintive, and Juushirou laughed, nodding his head.

"Sora's your friend and almost your kin. She deserves to know as much as anyone else." He pointed out. "Sora, Shunsui was the one who ranked top on the entrance exams. He's kept it a secret till now because he didn't want people to think he should be working harder than he was. But it's the truth."

Sora's eyes almost fell out of her head, staring at Shunsui in incredulation, and he held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Guilty." He admitted. "But again, it wasn't on purpose. It just...sort of...happened."

"The results are all really tight, though." Hirata gazed back up at the board. "Kyouraku-kun is top by three marks, and Ukitake-kun is above Kuchiki-kun by just two. That's five points splitting the top three."

"And thirteen points between Kuchiki-kun and I, when I gave everything and then some to rank this time round." Sora said ruefully. "Still, though, I've upped my ranking by one. I guess Okaasama will be all right with that, in the end."

"Shihouin-kun's marks have slipped." Juushirou reflected. "He's eighth, this time, instead of fourth - just ten marks above you, Houjou-kun. I guess things are weighing on his mind."

"I heard a rumour that his sister had been kidnapped from District Seven." Sora agreed. "I guess that kind of thing takes precedence over anything else."

Hirata moved across to the second board, squinting at it through the lenses of his spectacles.

"Kyouraku-kun was top in Hohou and Sakusen, second in Kidou and fourth in Kenjitsu." He murmured. "To finish top overall. Ukitake-kun was top in Kidou, though. And you were second in Kenjitsu, Houjou-kun - just a mark and a half behind Shihouin-kun."

"That's the only reason I'm still ninth." Enishi scratched his head ruefully. "I ranked bottom in Kidou for our class, even with extra classes and Ukitake's help."

"But that's better than when we had the assessment." Juushirou said comfortingly. "You rank with Class One in everything. Ninth is fine, because ninth is still Class One. Right?"

"I suppose so." Enishi grinned. "Thanks, Ukitake. I feel better now."

"I was bottom in Kenjitsu." Hirata added. "But everything else was all right and I've moved up to fifth overall. Father will be glad to hear that."

He smiled.

"I don't mind being here so much any more." He added. "Maybe that helps, not having to hide away and worry about what Seimaru might do to me next. I like being at the Academy, now. I think I'll be able to help my family, if I keep going like this."

"Congratulations, Kyouraku-kun." Ryuu interrupted the conversation at that moment, inclining his head slightly in acknowledgement of his classmate's achievement. "You too, Ukitake-kun. It's a close margin, but one I'll take seriously - I won't lose to either of you again, now I know what I'm up against."

"It really was very close." Juushirou agreed. "Odd marks here and there, I suppose, decided it in the end. You did well too, Kuchiki-kun. No one's disgraced themselves."

"No one except Shihouin." Ryuu looked derisive. "From fourth to eighth is a big slip. Far bigger than from second to third, I think...especially considering the number of points involved."

"Speaking of Shihouin..." Shunsui frowned, his sharp eyes making out the slim form of their missing classmate at the edge of the crowd, gazing up at the board with a distracted look in his golden eyes. "Give me some time, please, you people. I have word from my brother, and I think it should be given to him before anyone else."

"We'll head to the Dining Hall and see you there for breakfast." Juushirou nodded, understanding crossing his hazel eyes. "We know, after all, where we stand for the next semester - and so now we can eat. It won't matter if we're a little early, after all."

"Thanks, Juu-kun." Shunsui grinned, gratitude in his eyes. "I'll try not to be too long."

"I'm coming with." Sora decided. "I need a good meal to get over my shock."

"I also, but for more mundane reasons." Ryuu added. "Even though it seems I was pipped by two classmates this time, I have still increased my score by a complete fifteen marks all round. And this is undoubtedly cause for some celebration."

Shunsui grinned, shaking his head in amusement as he watched the group leave, their voices fading as they disappeared into the hallway and towards the Dining Hall. Then he steeled himself, sliding his fingers into his _obi_ for the precious letter as he crossed the floor.

"Shihouin? A word?" He said softly, and Kai glanced up, staring at him for a moment, then frowning.

"News?" He asked softly, and Shunsui nodded, slipping his arm into his companion's and leading him out of the melee.

"Out here is quieter." He said simply, pushing back the door that led outside into the early morning sunshine. "Juu and the others have gone to the Dining Hall, so I could show you in private. But I think it's good news, Kai-kun. At least, it doesn't seem as bad as you feared."

"Kai's brows knitted together, and he held his hand out for the letter.

"May I read it?" He murmured, and Shunsui grinned, handing the parchment over.

"With pleasure, if you can make out my brother's terrible scrawl." He agreed amiably. "It's quite a cryptic message, too."

"_As for the rumours you have no doubt heard from young Sora, it seems to be the case that the Shihouin girl is no longer in District Seven._" Kai read softly, running his finger alongside the straggly text as he absorbed its contents. "_The circumstances seem somewhat mysterious, though I have had missives from Seimaru-dono requesting permission to enter District Eight and search for a missing person there. He has not given me any names, of course, and I have refused his request. However, it seems impossible that the two things are not connected. Apparently even the Endou-ke don't know what has become of their caged butterfly.  
I did also hear a story of a girl and a black cat crossing into our territory. I found it interesting, since black cats with golden eyes are a rare breed in this part of Soul Society. That being the case, I have decided to leave well alone. Their destination is unknown, but it would not surprise me if they were soon outside of my jurisdiction_."

He glanced up, his eyes wide with hope, and Shunsui nodded.

"It seems to me that your sister didn't like her cage and flew it, just as Nii-sama's suggesting." He said frankly, taking back the letter and re-folding it before sliding it into his _obi_ once more. "And she's no longer in Endou hands."

"Then the question remains as to why." Kai bit his lip. "She knew that this alliance was decided by Uncle, and she believes in Clan honour. So something must've happened...and why hasn't she made contact? Has it really been that dangerous?"

"A girl and a black cat." Shunsui murmured. "You know, then, what that means?"

"The girl, I couldn't tell you." Kai shook his head. "But I'm certain Tokutarou-sama is referring to my sister when he mentions the cat."

He smiled, some of the pressure gone from his amber eyes.

"She is the shadow, after all." He murmured.

"And that means...?"

Kai hesitated, then he sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"My Clan and yours are not allies." He said carefully. "Yet Tokutarou-sama clearly knows my sister has trespassed into his land and is doing nothing about it. Even though she has no business being there, especially in the current climate between Clans in favour and against Genryuusai-sensei's scheme. I am grateful for that and for your help, and because of it, I wish things were different. The Endou-ke is not a Clan we should be allying with - it would have been much better had Uncle decided Midori-neesama was to marry your brother than the Endou heir."

"Was it considered?" Shunsui looked interested, and Kai spread his hands.

"Midori-neesama's future spouse has been discussed in many quarters for some time, and your brother's name was one mentioned as a potential tie." He admitted. "Father wasn't against it, and nor was Aneue herself. But then this alliance came up, and then..."

He shook his head as if to clear it.

"But that is beside the point. You have helped me and I want to show you that the Shihouin also have honour. So I will tell you about Midori-neesama. And about what it means, to be the shadow of the Shihouin."

"I'm listening." Shunsui smiled, inwardly turning over in his mind the idea of Tokutarou's reaction to a marriage offer from the Shihouin. "Nii-sama might regret losing that potential alliance, after all - I'm told Midori-dono is exceptionally beautiful."

"Naturally." Kai managed a faint smile. "But it's more than that. In our Clan, you see, there's a skill passed down from generation to generation. Only one is able to use its secrets at any one time, and it is always passed through the female line. There have been female heads of the Shihouin-ke often in the past - unlike the Kuchiki, we don't disdain our women kinsfolk so easily in positions of authority."

He sighed.

"Mother was the last shadow." He continued. "Her marriage to Father re-united two sides of the family that had grown distant - and brought the Shadow skill back into the heart of the Clan. Uncle was already married then, and he had a daughter of his own, plus later two sons. He hoped my mother would teach the Shadow skill to his daughter, but she was never strong enough to learn it...and then she and her older brother were both killed in a skirmish at the Urahara border, leaving the weakest brother as the heir to the Clan. Uncle and Father have a strong bond between them, and Father has always been Uncle's most loyal ally and supporter in all ways. So Uncle didn't mind, when Mother passed away from illness and it became clear that she'd bequeathed the Shadow skill to my sister instead. Midori-neesama is the only surviving girl in this generation of the Shihouin - and stronger than both my brother and I in many respects. She's looked up to by many...and even though she's not next in line to inherit the Clan, who she marries is of great importance. She always has suitors, because of how highly she's revered both inside and outside of District Two."

"Which would suggest that the Endou-ke wouldn't dare hurt her." Shunsui murmured. "I thought so. I thought she must've left on her own account."

He eyed his companion keenly.

"And the Shadow skill? It's a long shot, but it has something to do with this euphemism of a black cat?"

"It's not a euphemism." Kai shook his head. "That is the skill. Midori-neesama can change her shape, heighten her senses and wits and conceal herself in the form of a black cat. When she does so, she can hide her reiatsu completely from prying senses, even those belonging to her own kin."

"And that is how she's slipped the net." Comprehension flooded Shunsui's features. "If you knew that, you shouldn't have been worried at all, Kai-kun. If she had a talent like that, it should've been obvious that she would use it."

"I know." Kai admitted. "But even so...I was worried. Midori-neesama isn't just the Shadow Cat to me - she's my older sister and I couldn't help it. She hasn't contacted anyone, and even if she can't, with things as they are..."

"Your family are involved in something bad, aren't they?" Shunsui asked softly, and Kai flinched, biting his lip.

"I thought so." Shunsui sighed. "Something involving Megumi, Aitori and why you didn't want Onoe spreading rumours about Juu's reiatsu."

"Ukitake's reiatsu is all his own. It was a foolish assertion and Tomoyuki should have known better."

"Yes. He should." Shunsui nodded. "But so should you - and your kin."

He frowned, shaking his head.

"Your family are involved in illegal chemical experiments, aren't they?" He murmured, dropping his tone so that Kai had to strain to hear him. "That's what this is all about, isn't it? Midori-dono may not be involved, and you might not be either. But someone inside your Clan is. And from what you said about your Father - about him doing anything for your Uncle - I'm guessing it's him. Because you said yourself that your cousin hasn't very strong reiatsu. And those chemicals are designed to boost spiritual power in Noble level reiatsu, aren't they?"

Kai closed his eyes, and Shunsui rested a hand on his arm.

"I have no proof." He said simply. "And you don't have to answer me, either, if you don't want to. Like you defended Juu's reiatsu, I know yours is all your own, and its of a good level - a level that deserves a higher ranking than eighth. If Midori-dono is stronger than you, and she's inherited the mantle of your Clan's special skill, she's not going to be a candidate for these experiments, either. So I imagine what happened is that your Uncle begged your Father to do something to help his son get stronger. And your Father couldn't say no, and so got tied up in something sinister."

Kai took a deep breath into his lungs.

"Aitori gathers material from District One to assist Father." He said softly. "But Father does not distribute chemicals to anyone at all. It is research, that is all. There have been no active experimentations since he took the project over, and noone has died as a result of what he is doing. Yes, it is illegal. It is against the ban and if he were to be caught, the Council would seek his death. But it is not as it sounds. My cousin is the only one who will ever receive the chemical, and he will do so knowing that it may kill or break him. Uncle is afraid of another civil split in the Clan, and my cousin is not strong enough to hold the factions together with the feeble power he possesses. That is why. It is for peace in District Two, not to cause pain and suffering to town girls in District One."

"That's your take on it, perhaps." Shunsui rubbed his chin. "And I do see your logic, even if I don't agree with the methods. The trouble is, though, that the chemicals are coming here from somewhere. And Aitori's undoubtedly involved, if he's smuggling things one way. You think so too, don't you?"

"Yes." Kai admitted. "But I'm not in a position to do anything. Aitori knew Megumi was going to be killed, but he didn't tell me about it and he wouldn't have done had I not confronted him and asked him directly. He's that kind of man - I don't think he's acting with Father's or the Clan's best interests in mind."

"And the Endou-ke?"

"They are involved." Kai bit his lip. "But exactly what Seimaru-dono seeks to gain from it, I don't know."

"_Seimaru _killed Megumi, didn't he?"

"He or his men." Kai swallowed hard. "But listen. Kyouraku, listen to me. I know you care about the justice of this girl, and I won't talk you out of that. And I have trusted you, because you have reached out a hand to help me and I consider that proof of your honour. Perhaps, even, proof that alliance between your people and mine is not yet impossible. But there is no proof against the Endou-ke and they are your neighbours. It will only cause your brother greater trouble if you make allegations without firm, unrefutable evidence. They cover their tracks, just as we do. And whilst I'm no longer sure Aitori is someone the Clan can trust, if you were to mention any of this to anyone else, I would deny it and swear on my life that it was all lies."

"I've no intention of doing anything." Shunsui said levelly, and Kai shot him a startled look.

"But...?"

"You're right. These aren't people I can challenge with flimsy suspicions." Shunsui grinned. "Besides, you're thrust into this without much choice. I don't want to make it harder for you, either, since Juu seems convinced you're an okay person underneath all your Clan attitude and prejudices. And Juu has an uncanny knack of making me listen to him. So you can thank him, in a sense, for that."

Kai sent him a wary look, and Shunsui's expression became serious.

"This can't carry on, though." He murmured. "Someone will find out, sooner or later. I believe you, when you say your Father's involvement is how it is, but that doesn't mean there aren't other weak links. And your Clan will suffer. I'd wager Midori-dono realises that too. And she's moved in order to try and save things, before it's too late."

"You mean...?" Kai's eyes widened, and Shunsui nodded.

"I think your sister's coming to pay us all a visit." He agreed.

Kai looked troubled, then,

"Then I have one more favour to ask of you." He murmured. "And I'd like it if you'd keep it from anyone else, for the time being. But...I think if there is someone I can trust, at present it must be you. You have helped me so far, and I don't think you mean to cause trouble for my family even knowing what you do. So will you...will you help me in one other way?"

"Depends what it is." Shunsui looked surprised, and Kai sighed.

"Tomorrow is our free day." He said quietly. "And given what you've said, I don't think it wise I leave here. Not with Aitori keeping such close tabs on me. He has a house in the town, after all - and there's nowhere I can go without being observed by either him or Tomoyuki. But if Midori-neesama_ is_ in the area...and safe...I want to know. So will you go for me, and find out? It may be difficult, if she's concealing her presence - but there is no one else I can ask. And if she is safe, and this isn't some elaborate scheme on the part of the Endou...I want to know what she intends by being here. Or more, if she's just passing through here to get back to District Two."

"That's worrying you too, is it?" Shunsui asked, and Kai's golden eyes clouded over as he nodded.

"My sister is a strong person." He whispered. "And she has a lot of pride. If she's left District Seven against Father and Uncle's will, it means she's going to do something significant. And if she's heading this way, she may well be heading for home and...and I don't know what she might do when she gets there. So...if you can find her...please, find her. Because I don't want her to do something that might get her hurt."

"Would she act that way?" Shunsui looked startled, and Kai nodded.

"She was angry and upset when she was sent to District Seven, since she was sent against her will and wasn't even allowed to take her own servants with her. She railed against it to begin with, but her hand was forced by Uncle's orders." He murmured. "And there's one other thing about my sister, too. She has a _zanpakutou_, Kyouraku. She's the only Shihouin other than Uncle who presently carries one - and she can release it to a high level if she so chooses."

"But surely she doesn't have that with her? As a cat...?" Shunsui was bemused, and Kai shook his head.

"Neesama's sword is one that even in the form of a cat she can carry." He responded sadly "One that even Seimaru probably hasn't discovered. Because she's inherited the skill, she was pushed and trained to her limits from the moment Mother passed on. That's why she's as strong as she is, even though she's only three years older than me. _And_ why she's so revered. She's not just an ordinary Clanswoman. She's the Shadow. And now she's twenty, she's old enough..."

He sighed.

"Neesama _wanted_ to forge an alliance with the Kyouraku, given their military pride and heritage." He added quietly. "She's always admired the way they've handled their land and held their borders no matter what the situation. And she favoured the idea of marriage to your brother over all other suggestions at the time, because of his reputation as a man of honour and strength. If my message was to come from _you_, I think she'd listen. And believe you. Because Midori-neesama truly believes the Kyouraku-ke are proper soldiers - and therefore live and die by the same ingrained honour our own people are supposed to do."

"You really think she's going to do something rash, don't you?"

"She may already have done in leaving District Seven without permission." Kai admitted. "I love my sister very much. But I know...when she's angry...she's not someone you want to cross. She's never directed her rage _at_ me – but she has used it in defence of me. I've seen the effects of her _zanpakutou _once before. And it worries me, what she might use it to do."

Shunsui closed his eyes briefly for a moment, then, slowly, nodded his head.

"Tomorrow, then, I'll do as you say." He said evenly. "I'll take Juu, since he knows the most and is the least likely to be suspicious - he won't think for a moment that looking for your sister in the local area might have anything more sinister behind it than simply trying to find out if she's safe. In any case, I'll tell him we're looking for clues on my own account, and he won't say anything. But if I do find Midori-dono, I'll pass on your message. And if I don't, but I discover she's on her way here, I'll bring you that news too."

He let out his breath in a rush.

"After all, if she's the kind of wench you paint her as, I wouldn't like anyone to be in her way when she finally sets foot in District One."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

_Yep, since it's Easter, I'm updating this early this week XD.**  
**_

_**Reidoku**_

_Reidoku_ 霊毒_ literally means spirit poison, just as Tokutarou said it. It seemed an apt street name for the chemicals the Urahara first developed!_

_**Seireitei, Districts and Rukongai - Circa JuuShun Era (fanfic explanation)**  
_

_Since this came up in a review, and since I haven't clearly explained it all as such, I thought I'd put this here too in case anyone else is wondering about my (complete lack of) Soul Society geography._

_I kept the name Seireitei because it's a name people familiarly associate with Soul Society. However you can divide this into Inner Seireitei and Outer Seireitei._

_In canon, there's a little circle of land inside the middle of Rukongai's land, which is designated **Seireitei** and this is where the squad bases are and so on and so forth._

_This does exist in my storyline, and is called '**Inner Seireitei**'. It has not appeared in this story - but there is a possibility of it appearing...at some point...maybe in the future. It's considered neutral territory and it's where the **Noble Council of Elders** (predecessor of Central 46) meet to discuss various things. It is also where, in the previous few years, the first squad bases have been set up as camps for the Shinigami squads led by the Gotei - although for the most part these shinigami still tend to haunt their local area. There are four squads though (9-12) whose only real base is Inner Seireitei. Although they are run by Clan, they are not as closely affiliated to the Clan families as, say, 2nd is to the Shihouin or 6th to the Kuchiki._

_**Rukongai **is not as big in this era as it is in the canon plotline, since until recently there have been few Shinigami to venture into the Real World to rescue souls, and Hollows have only just begun to be properly purified. Rukongai exists in its ring around inner Seireitei - but is not as many districts and as yet is a place where Juu and Shun and company cannot and do not go._

_OUTSIDE of this ring of Rukongai districts is where the Nobles have their lands. The Clan Districts, 1-8 clockwise, which are divided equally in eight segments like spokes of a wheel. This means 8 borders 1 and the cycle begins again. This is what's known in my fic as **Outer Seireitei**, or for the most part, just **Seireitei**. This area does not feature at all in canon, although the implication is that it might exist, given that we have Noble estates and so on which do not seem to be a part of the military complex within Inner Seireitei. It's my opinion, therefore, that Byakuya's family estate is, possibly, on the other side of Rukongai - as well as the Shihouin estate and the other Great Families that we haven't had anything to do with as yet._

_It is in THIS land that Juushirou's family and all of the Clans are currently living. _

_I can't draw, but if you can imagine the way Seireitei and Rukongai are explained to Ichigo and company when they first arrived - a little circle with a bigger one outside of it - just consider that the Clan lands are on the outside of that outer circle._

_My idea is that by the time we reach the real plotline, Rukongai has expanded into some of this former Clan area, and that the Hollows have been more or less eradicated from Clan land, allowing the squads to spend more time in Inner Seireitei. Therefore the outer Clan lands are rarely seen, and no longer known by the collective name of 'Seireitei'._

_Phew. I hope that makes sense. _


	20. Blood Shadow

**Chapter Nineteen: Blood Shadow**

"The beauty of Summer in this part of the world seems to be that, no matter what the day happens to be, you can always count on beautiful sunshine."

Shunsui gazed up at the sky, a grin crossing his features as he held his palms out to the sun. "Maybe it's being a Summer baby myself, I don't know - but the sun always makes me feel like something good is about to happen."

"And that wouldn't have anything to do with the fact last night Genryuusai-sensei lifted your interdict and ended your extra Kitchen duties, would it?" Juushirou cast him an amused glance. "This is the first free day in a long time that you've been given proper permission to leave school grounds - no wonder you're in a good mood. You even managed to get out of bed voluntarily for breakfast when you didn't have to. I'm impressed. First yesterday's results, now this - can you have possibly turned over a new leaf?"

"I was feeling a little claustrophobic, being confined to quarters." Shunsui admitted sheepishly. "I suppose at home I'm used to slipping out and doing what I please when I please - even if I should be in the middle of some lesson or other. I'm not very good with schedules and timetables and things like that - rules too."

Juushirou laughed.

"Yes, I think we've all got a good idea of that fact." He teased. "But it's fine. We're all used to you, now. It's nice, isn't it? Even Shihouin-kun is separating himself less from the group, and I feel like Class One are all on fairly good terms now as we approach the end of our first full semester. It makes me think that by the time we graduate, we'll all be much more a team than we started out."

"If it was anyone other than you saying it, I'd laugh." Shunsui offered him a wry smile. "But normal rules don't seem to apply where you're concerned, so I'll hazard that anything's possible."

"Shunsui!" Juushirou grimaced, colour flushing into his cheeks as he read the implication in his companion's words. "I'm _not _an interfering busybody!"

"_I_ said nothing of the sort." Shunsui said innocently. "_You're_ the one who came up with that tag - not me."

"Fine. Whatever." Juushirou's expression became one of resignation. "Where are we walking today, anyhow? To celebrate your first day of freedom? I'm surprised it's just the two of us - does that mean you've an ulterior motive behind today's visit?"

"Mm. Maybe." Shunsui acknowledged. "I still have a lot of questions to ask about Megumi, I suppose, providing I have better luck than Minabe-sensei and her fearsome interrogation techniques. Megumi and Kyouko were the only girls I really knew well enough to gain trust with - so who knows. I have to try, though. Even though I more or less know most of the particulars now - there are still a few things I'm trying to work out."

Juushirou frowned, considering this for a moment, and Shunsui cast him a questioning look.

"Something on your mind?"

"Not exactly." Juushirou shook his head, offering his companion a rueful smile. "Just, since results yesterday, Shihouin-kun seems to have thawed towards you completely. I wouldn't say that it was a case of him making you his instant best friend - it's not that way at all, because he's not that kind of person. But it's as though...you've gained his trust. I almost thought he was going to come into the town with us today, in fact. Was it something to do with your letter from Tokutarou-sama? We haven't discussed that yet, and I'm guessing that's because there's something in it that I don't need to know...?"

"Not especially." Shunsui grinned. "You're sharp, though. Shihouin did tell me something which has more or less settled Megumi's death in my mind. The only trouble - and it's a big one - would be to prove it, so right at the moment, unless I can find some evidence in town that will do that, I don't think we can. And I hate admitting that, but it's like we're about to hit a brick wall."

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm not giving up." He said frankly. "But I think I might have to sit on it and be patient for a while longer. Kyouko at least is safe and alive, and she's a witness. In the end, I think, I may have to let things work themselves out."

"Then why are we coming into town?"

Shunsui hesitated for a moment, eying his friend keenly. Then he shrugged.

"Well, there is something I can say about Nii-sama's letter." He responded evenly. "About the missing Midori."

"Shihouin-kun's elder sister?" Juushirou's brows knitted together. "She's safe, isn't she? You said..."

"Yes. Seems to be she left Seventh District of her own accord." Shunsui agreed. "Which I'd half expected anyway. But Nii-sama seemed to think that her destination was this way. He pretty much confirmed that she'd crossed into Eighth - though he wasn't explicit about how, when or why - and he said he thought her destination was District One. How he came by that information is beyond me - but it would make sense if she was. If she found something out in District Seven, after all..."

"Mm." Juushirou frowned. "And she's worried about her brother, so she's come here to make sure he's not tied up in something bad?"

"If only it was something so simple." Shunsui sighed. "I've never met Midori-dono, Juu. I've only heard about her in various reports and messages. But Kai-kun told me that her reiatsu exceeded his - and that she was easily the strongest and most respected person in her generation of the Shihouin-ke. For a family which prides itself on swift and merciless action, I can't help but wonder what kind of an individual we're dealing with. Someone who can escape from the clutches of Endou Seimaru...that's no mean feat in itself."

"Seimaru-sama is really that bad a person, then, is he?"

"He's greedy, violent and cold to the core, I suppose." Shunsui said casually. "He's not a nice person. Let's leave it at that. He's the one behind the cleansing of District Seven's spiritually gifted individuals, after all. Our Clan have a military history, and the Shiba have good sword and combat skills. The Yamamoto excel at various Ouyoudou skills, and the Shihouin are the silent assassins. But if you were to categorise the Endou, the word that springs to mind is 'barbarian'. What Hirata's said about his own family, I can quite believe. Any decent strain of that Clan would immediately be seen as a threat to the family - and so would be targets for elimination. A family like that...yet Midori-dono escaped. Without the knowledge and support of her mother house, she's slipped under the radar and made her own progress here. I can't help but think she's come to do more than help Kai-kun or put his mind at rest. I don't think she's a delicate flower by any stretch of the imagination."

"Then what?" Juushirou asked. "Like Minabe-sensei?"

"Heaven forbid." Shunsui said fervently, and Juushirou laughed, amused by his friend's expression.

"Minabe-sensei isn't that terrible, so long as you work hard." He chided, and Shunsui snorted.

"Which is why she and I don't really get along." He reasoned. "But in any case, the other thing about Midori-dono is that she's supposedly a great beauty. Well, the Shihouin have fine features anyway - striking, you know? If Kai-kun's anything to go by, I'd say it's probably no exaggeration. Beautiful women have power in this world, and that's no lie."

"Not everything relies on beauty, Shunsui." Juushirou scolded, and Shunsui shrugged.

"Yes, but if you know how to use it, it becomes a weapon in its own right." He said wryly. "Trust me."

"I hate to think where you obtained that knowledge." Juushirou murmured, eying his friend pensively. "All right, then. So you think Shihouin-kun's sister is coming here? Then what - do you intend looking for her?"

"Probably impossible, if she's a Shihouin." Shunsui frowned. "Apparently she has a special talent - she can change her appearance and when she does so, her reiatsu can be completely concealed from even the sharpest senses. Kai-kun probably wouldn't be able to find her - and neither of us have ever met her. Still..."

"Still?"

"Even knowing that, I felt we should come." Shunsui sighed, rubbing his temples. "It might not accomplish anything at all. But I suppose I thought we'd head to some of the local inns and find out whether a girl and a black cat have recently arrived in this area."

He paused again, then,

"I thought it might be important, for us to know if Midori-dono was planning on making a stop here on her trip back towards District Two. After all, there are people still worrying about her safety."

"A girl and a...cat?"

"Yes."

"Midori-sama brought her pet with her?" Juushirou was flummoxed, and at his expression, Shunsui laughed.

"No." He said, shaking his head. "Midori-sama _is_ the cat. That's her other form."

"Oh." Juushirou frowned. "And the other?"

"A servant, probably - most likely a Shihouin contact who helped her slip District Seven's security." Shunsui replied. "I can't imagine that she went into the Endou-ke's domain without her own people nearby to report back to her Uncle, after all. Probably one of them helped to cover her escape and has come this far with her to make sure nothing gets in her way."

He laughed.

"_That _one might well be like Minabe." He added, humour touching his gaze. "I think you'd need to be pretty tough to travel alone with the Princess of the Shihouin-ke."

"But Shihouin-kun loves Midori-sama a whole lot." Juushirou mused. "So she can't be that bad a person. Not if she has a close bond like that with her siblings. After all, Shihouin-kun isn't a bad person, either. Proud, perhaps, and we haven't come from the same backgrounds. But even so..."

"There you go again, insisting on seeing the best in people." Shunsui rolled his eyes. "It's becoming a habit with you, you know. You need to keep..."

He faltered, his words dying on his lips, and Juushirou's brows knitted together as he interpreted the sudden change in his companion's demeanour. The older boy had stopped dead, colour draining from his face as he stared across the busy market-place, and despite himself Juushirou was aware of a sudden, flickering tension running through his friend's lithe body.

"Shunsui-kun? Are you all right? You've gone white - like you've seen a ghost!"

"I...I maybe did." Shunsui shook his head as if trying to clear it, biting his lip as he grabbed Juushirou by the arm. His grip was frantic and uncharacteristically tight, and he flung a hand out in the direction of the book shop. "Look. Look over there. Tell me. Do you see a girl? A girl dressed in black and purple...do you see her?"

"Yes." Now Juushirou was completely lost, but he nodded his head all the same. "I see her. With her hair pulled back in two tails...why?"

Shunsui muttered a curse, closing his eyes for a moment as if trying to regain his composure.

"I hoped it was a hallucination." He murmured. "But I guess not. I guess...I guess not."

"Shunsui, what has gotten into you?" Juushirou demanded, anxiety beginning to swirl inside of him at his friend's uncharacteristic behaviour. "Who is that girl? You're acting totally unlike yourself - what's wrong?"

Shunsui swallowed, wetting his lips as he glanced once more across the square.

"Etsuo Saku." He murmured. "An acquaintance...from a long time ago."

"An acquaintance?" Juushirou's brain began to whir into action. "A girl...from the past? Your past? From your 'aimless life' in Eighth District?"

"No. Not exactly." Shunsui sighed, grabbing Juushirou once more and pulling him into a concealed side alley out of sight. He dropped back against the wall, rubbing his temples as he did so, and Juushirou eyed him quizzically.

"Shunsui?"

"I knew Saku when I was a boy. When I was at my Uncle's house, not far from the border with Seventh District." Shunsui murmured hoarsely, his voice uneven and shaking as he struggled to form his thoughts into coherent words. "She and I...played together. Until I was fourteen. And my brother came...to take me home."

"So why are you hiding?" Juushirou demanded. "Why are you shaking, Shunsui? If she's an old childhood friend, what's to be afraid of? What happened between you, that just seeing her makes you like this?"

"I told you, didn't I?" Shunsui raised hopeless eyes to his companion. "That the serious ones wound you more deeply than you ever care to find out?"

"Wound you...?" Juushirou echoed slowly, and Shunsui nodded.

"She was District. I was Clan." He said simply. "And that's how it was."

Juushirou's eyes widened.

"You mean...you were...in _love_ with her?"

"Try present tense." Shunsui grimaced, running his fingers agitatedly through his short messy hair. "I didn't anticipate we'd meet again, though. I suppose I hoped in some ways we wouldn't. Not after how we parted...I didn't want to cross paths with her again."

Juushirou stared at his friend for a moment, taking in his complete breakdown in composure, then he sighed.

"You flirt and tease and play around." He murmured. "But this girl...this Etsuo Saku...you've been in love with her all of this time? Even since before I knew you - since you were what, fourteen years old?"

"No. Undoubtedly before. Maybe since the start, who knows?" Shunsui groaned. "Listen. I was a prisoner at my Uncle's estate. Father was dead, and Mother a long way away. Saku was my neechan - she and I played together and she was...she was freer than I was. I liked that. She was interesting. Fun. Exciting."

"Girls with freedom in their eyes." Juushirou peered thoughtfully around the corner of the building, then, "I start to understand, then, what that means."

"Yes." Shunsui said heavily. "Now you do."

"But you hurt her? It must've been bad, if you're like this. Or was it she who hurt you? Because even so..."

"We were innocent and we neither of us understood what the implications were of our friendship." Shunsui murmured. "Especially not me. I liked her and she was pretty. So I kissed her, and she kissed me. But we were found out by Uncle's retainers, and that was that. She was sent away, and her father too. I was locked away...then Nii-sama came and took me back home. Being Clan was the only reason our friendship was unsuitable. No other reason, just that. But because I was Clan, she suffered. Her father lost his position and they had to go back to struggling for their income."

"Shunsui..." Juushirou's eyes softened at the bitterness in his companion's voice, and Shunsui shrugged.

"That was bad enough, being responsible for that without meaning it." He said painfully. "But we met again, two years later on. I was the _bocchan_ then, I suppose - robed as a Kyouraku so much that she didn't even recognise me. And she...her eyes weren't free, then. Her father had died, and she'd talked of leaving. She said to me, that time, that she wished I hadn't come. That it hurt to even see me...and so I left. I never tried to follow her from Eighth District...or anything else. She said she was going to leave and the border of the Endou-ke's land was nearest, so I imagine that was where she went. And I let her. I let her go, Juushirou. Because I didn't want to be more pain for her. In the end, I realised, that so long as she and I were acquainted, I could only bring her pain."

Juushirou was silent for a moment, digesting this. Then,

"But you still love her, even now?"

"It's stupid, isn't it?" Shunsui managed a weak laugh. "That someone like me would be so easily pulled up on such a simple, childlike attachment. But that was why, probably. The innocence of it. You can't ever go back to not knowing something once you know it, Juu. That's why I envy you so much as I do. You don't know so many things about being Clan, or fighting Clan, or the hideous sides to being privileged that exist. I can't escape from those things - they're shackles I was born wearing and I'll never shake them off."

He sighed, raising his gaze to the skies, and Juushirou saw the genuine emotion in his friend's eyes.

"It's why I let her go." He murmured. "In case somehow she could find that freedom again, once my family and I were no longer casting her in shadow."

Juushirou looked thoughtful for a moment.

"If she went to the Endou-ke's land, though, why is she here now?" He wondered. "I might not know much about the Clans inner workings, but I do know my geography. This is District One. It borders District Eight and District Two. Not District Seven. To get here, she must've returned to her home territory – mustn't she?"

Shunsui stiffened, staring at his companion in consternation.

"I hadn't thought of it that way." He admitted, and Juushirou sighed, taking him by the shoulders and giving him a friendly shake.

"Now I know you're really out of it, because you're usually the one who sees things like that a mile off." He said frankly. "Maybe she went back to District Eight to see you – and you weren't there. Did you think of that?"

Shunsui frowned, slowly shaking his head.

"She didn't do that." He said softly. "Of all the things she might've done, Juu, I'm certain of that one. She had no intention of ever coming back – more, no intention of ever being beholden to the Kyouraku-ke in any way whatsoever again. If she went back to District Eight for any reason, it had nothing to do with me or my family. I might not have seen her in some time, but I'm one hundred percent sure of that."

He sighed heavily.

"Let's go back to school." He added. "Before she sees me."

"She's gone in any case." Juushirou peered back around the wall. "But if you feel that way, we'll go. You need to pull yourself together, anyhow. If Sora saw you now she wouldn't even know you."

"I guess not." Shunsui acknowledged ruefully, glancing down at his shaking hands as he did so. "Even _I_ didn't realise Saku could affect me this badly, Juu – not now, so long after we last met. But I suppose I underestimated it inside of me. A year and a half ago, the last time we spoke, what she said cut right through me to the bone. Although we'd become like strangers, it was like being turned on by the one I'd trusted in the most. That last time we met was the first time I realised how much I loved her. And I didn't handle it very well. Not well at all, in fact."

He spread his hands, a flicker of his usual self surfacing briefly in his dark eyes.

"I'm Father's son, as I keep telling you." He concluded at length. "The good parts and the bad. Father died with a reputation of drinking and womanising hanging over his head – and I fell into the same traps. He couldn't face his duty and I couldn't face losing Saku - not because I loved her, but because somehow I'd lost my hope of finding freedom the moment she disappeared from my life."

He sighed, pulling a graphic face.

"His reasons were a bit more noble, perhaps, than my self-pitying excesses." He acknowledged. "But it ran deep and I didn't know what to do about it. Tokutarou-nii sent me to the Academy because I was out of his control – he hoped Yama-jii would straighten me out somehow. I guess in that sense he has, but…it hasn't changed everything."

"You know, you're really quite soft-hearted deep down, underneath all that flirting and banter and teasing you do." Juushirou reflected as they made their way slowly back towards the centre of the town and the path that led back to the Academy. "I'd never have picked you to be a weeping heart romantic, though…it seems a little at odds with the rest of you, if you don't mind me saying."

He grinned as Shunsui reddened.

"I'm really not sure what to do with you when you're like this." He added.

"I'll snap out of it." Shunsui assured him ruefully. "I will – I have before. It was just a shock to see her – that's all. Something I wasn't expecting. I'm sorry to break down on you, Juushirou – I'm all right now, I think."

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Tokutarou-nii also sent me here because he was worried about me and so was Mother – so much she cried." He said sadly. "I always swore that I wouldn't make her cry like Father had, but in the end I did. Maybe that was a turning point, somewhere. I don't know. But I couldn't talk to them about Saku. Still can't. Never will, most likely. It's not something they'd understand – either of them."

"They could try." Juushirou looked surprised. "If it was me, I know someone in my family would listen, after all."

"Your family are different from mine. For a start, mine are Clan, and even family love has agendas in Clan life." Shunsui said matter-of-factly. "More, though, neither of them knew Saku or knew me when I knew Saku. Uncle took me from home aged six. Tokutarou-nii rescued me when I was fourteen. The time in between I never talk about to them – because it's a reminder of what Uncle did to Father and what Uncle tried to do with me. I don't need them to remember that Uncle wanted to make me a weapon and a traitor, and even though he failed, I don't want to put rifts between me and my existing family. Even if we aren't as close as you are to your family, they are still my kin after all. And I do still care about them. Both of them. A lot."

"So you've kept it hidden." Juushirou murmured. "And let it run riot around your head for however long until it's got to this point."

"Mm. I told you I didn't do confiding all that easily." Shunsui reminded him. "I meant it."

"But you told me." Juushirou said simply. "About your Father and now about Saku-san. So it's not that you can't talk about things. You just don't."

Shunsui looked rueful, shaking his head.

"No. It's only because it's _you_ doing the asking." He said with a shrug. "That's all. It's hard not to answer when you ask me a question, Juu-kun."

"You're making me seem interfering again." Juushirou objected, but Shunsui grinned, and his companion was glad to see the warmth returning to his gaze.

"I don't mean it that way." He responded. "It's just that…somehow…I know that whatever I say to you it's fine. You might understand or you might not. But you'll listen. You won't laugh. And if you can give me advice, you will – whether I take it or not. Besides, none of these things concern you directly, either. You're not blood-connected to any of the people involved. So that means there's no danger in telling you."

Juushirou eyed him thoughtfully for a moment.

"When you say things like that, I find it strange." He admitted. "Of course I'd listen, and give advice if I could. It's not that big a deal, you know…it's just what friends do, after all."

"Not always." Shunsui shook his head.

"Then I guess I have a different concept of friendship." Juushirou replied. "But you'd listen to me too, wouldn't you?"

"Yes. You know I would."

"Then what's unusual about it? It seems normal enough to me."

"And that's why I trust you." Shunsui grinned, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Because you see things just like that."

"That's because it's the most obvious way to see them." Juushirou responded matter-of-factly. "You just look for angles and ulterior motives and annoy yourself when you can't find them. That's all."

He smiled.

"But I'm glad you told me about Saku-san." He added. "I feel like another piece in the Shunsui puzzle fell into place a little bit today."

"The Shunsui puzzle, huh?" Shunsui snorted. "Thanks. Now I feel like I'm one of Yama-jii's brain-breaking Sakusen theory questions!"

Juushirou opened his lips to respond, but as he did so, something sharp assailed his senses, and he stopped dead in his tracks, turning to gaze at his companion with alarmed hazel eyes.

"Did you just feel that?" He demanded, and Shunsui nodded, his expression darkening.

"Reiatsu." He agreed. "And not just any reiatsu. That's a _zanpakutou _release, Juu-kun. Someone's fighting. And they mean business about it."

"A _zanpakutou_..." Juushirou faltered, then, "Anideshi? Or...one of the staff...? Or wait, not all of them have_ zanpakutou_, do they? So who, then?"

"We're going to find out." Shunsui said grimly, grabbing his friend by the arm. "And we're going to do so right now. It's breaking all kinds of laws to release a blade in a civilian area without due cause, so either the local Gotei squad representatives or District One's Clan retainers will be on the scene before we know it. And then there'll be a big fuss."

"You think it's not to do with them already?" Juushirou asked anxiously, and Shunsui shook his head.

"I don't think its a Yamamoto blade." He said frankly, consternation glittering in his dark eyes. "You won't know this, Juu-kun, because you've not had much to do with _zanpakutou _as yet. But each Clan has a particular feeling to their weaponry - a tiny fragment of something that's common between their blades. No matter how different the releases prove to be, there's still that underlying proof of where it came from."

"Meaning?"

"I've never felt this _zanpakutou'_s aura before." Shunsui said grimly. "But I do know one thing. It has a distinctive assassin's edge to its reiatsu."

"Assassin's..." Juushirou faltered, then, "_Shihouin-ke_?"

"Yes." Shunsui nodded. "I may be way off the mark. But I have a sudden strong feeling that the elusive Shihouin Midori-sama has finally arrived in District One."

* * *

Some time just after dawn that morning, while Shunsui and his classmates were preparing for the day ahead, Midori and her companion had finally arrived in the heart of District One.

The black cat stretched out in the shade beneath the tree's heavy branches, stifling a yawn as she curled her tail around her paws. It had been a long and tiring journey across the borderlands, through hilly country which in her feline form had been more difficult to traverse than it would have been on foot. Saku too had struggled with the heavy terrain, though she had not complained once about the heat nor the length of the journey, and Midori had been glad of it. Her companion was still, in some ways, a mystery to her. But she was not a quitter - and for now that was enough.

_And now we're within reach of the Academy. If only it was safe to use _shunpo_ - but even if I did, and took Saku with me, someone would be down on me within the instant. I don't know the landscape well enough to risk it, either. Tired as I am and with this heat, I wouldn't be able to conceal myself as well as I can now whilst using that skill - and I have already taken risk enough. I must not be discovered until I have completed my objectives._

She sighed, resting her head on her paws as she considered. Despite her weariness, Saku had headed directly into the town, bent on a particular errand, and at the back of her senses Midori could feel the girl's presence as she hurried from shop to shop, gathering the information that they would need.

_This journey would have been twice as hard without her at my side. Why the Endou discarded her so easily is beyond me. A girl with skills and obedience and a willingness to learn and understand. What better could you ask for in a subordinate? Saku is not a servant to be gainsaid lightly. Their loss is my gain, in the end. If not for her knowledge, I might still be lost in District Eight's confounded flower gardens._

"Mistress?"

A soft voice alerted her at that moment and she raised her head, gazing up at the object of her thoughts with quizzical golden eyes.

"I have returned." Saku said unnecessarily, dropping down onto the grass and setting the basket down beside her. "As you instructed, I have purchased the cheapest of peasant robes with the coin you gave me."

"Good girl." Midori arched her back, stretching and pulling her slender black body upright as she rested her paws on the edge of the basket, nudging the cloth back with her nose. "And the other thing? Have you discovered what it is I need to know?"

"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku offered her a faint smile. "It seems that your lord brother's Hohou instructor owns a house just beyond the central concourse of the town. It's not a big one, but two storeys in height and many of the locals know him by name and face because of his association with the school."

"Aitori Hideaki." Midori's claws flexed and retracted, and she nodded, closing her eyes as her body shimmered and changed back into her original form. "Then it is well. We aren't far away, after all. I will change, Saku, and you take a moment to rest. Then we will move. Understand?"

"Yes, Mistress. Whenever you're ready."

"Good girl." Midori flashed her a smile, scooping up the peasant robe in her hands and pulling it over her slender form. "There. Scratchy and uncomfortable it might be, but it will do for the time being. Fine clothes would only be ruined, after all - and I don't need to draw unwanted attention to myself. You know how to find this house, Saku?"

"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku agreed. "From here it's a mere minute's walk, and if we follow the forest path, we won't meet any townspeople on the way."

"That's fortunate." Midori commented. "But I don't suppose it's a coincidence, considering the kind of man we go to see."

Saku hesitated for a moment, then,

"Midori-sama, do you intend to kill Aitori-san as well?" She asked softly, and Midori eyed her for a moment.

"Does it trouble you, then, that I took a man's life on our way into this town?" She asked softly, and Saku bit her lip.

"I'm not used to it." She admitted. "I've faced death and I'm not naive. I understand it, and I'm not questioning your actions. I just..."

"Fujima was one of Aitori's agents, but also, it seems, a trafficker of illegal chemical stimulants." Midori tied the sash of the robe tightly around her waist. "Chemicals known locally as '_reidoku_' - chemicals which have been poisoning the local population. Do you believe such a man deserves to live?"

"I...I suppose not."

"You are innocent, sometimes." Midori rested her hand on her companion's shoulders. "There is a time and a place for most things, but in this place and in his possession were not appropriate. There is danger to my family if a man like him is allowed to carry out such a dirty task. So I have silenced him. Now he can't speak about from where he received his _reidoku_, can he?"

Saku's eyes widened in alarm.

"You mean...Midori-sama...this _reidoku_..."

"Is from District Two. Yes." Midori nodded her head. "But it was never intended for anything like this. And you would do well not to mention it to anyone. This is a test of my faith in you, Saku. The knowledge you now have is a matter of life and death - for you, for me, perhaps for my whole family. Knowing it, do you still think that I have no reason to kill?"

She smiled slightly.

"I do not want to kill _you_." She added lightly. "That is the truth, because I have become fond of you. But if you did betray that trust, I would have no choice. Do you understand, now? The stakes for my Clan are higher than they've ever been. You have helped me at great risk to yourself. If you bear out my faith in you, I will ensure your life from now on is free of abuse and pain and full of purpose and need. There is much in District Two that you would like - and someone in the favour of my family stands to gain much from their obedience. The Shihouin are a generous Clan. But we do not forgive betrayal."

"I don't mind." Saku got to her feet, scooping up her basket and slipping it into a crevasse between the tree branches. "I don't have any reason to betray someone when they've been kind to me and given me the chance to do something worthwhile with my life. Since Father died, Midori-sama, I've just been by myself. My needs are the only thing that I've given thought to. If I can settle those by serving you, you have my loyalty. It's not my business, after all, what the Clans do. I'm not Clan."

"Yes, I thought you were wise enough to understand." Midori smiled. "Then we'll go. And settle things with Aitori."

She cast her companion a glance.

"But I won't make you watch." She added. "When I speak to Aitori. I'd like you to take him off guard for me, and tell him about Fujima's death. Then I will send you back to the town. You can discover for me the truth of the other matter floating around here - the so-called Shihouin killing of that local wench."

Relief and gratitude flashed into Saku's dark eyes, and she bowed her head.

"Yes, Midori-sama. I understand." She said softly. "And I will do as you say."

Aitori's property was indeed not far from their chosen hiding place, and as they approached the building, Midori held back, flicking her fingers in the direction of the doorway.

"Go." She said softly. "Do my bidding. I will make my entrance in good time - but I wish to observe his reactions a little first."

"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku nodded. "You can count on me."

With that she disappeared into the building, and as she did so, Midori pressed her slender form up against the wall of the building, peering through the cracks in the aging, splintered wood as she took in the thin form of her would-be opponent. He seemed harried, she thought, as though things were not quite running as smoothly as they should, and somehow this gave her a sense of malicious pleasure.

_Not just a traitor to your Clan, Aitori, but a greedy man bent on more than Father's errands. You truly don't care, do you, if fools like that Fujima give away Father's work and create trouble for the family? This has to stop, here and now. And I will be the one to stop it. I will not be a tool for you and the Endou-ke to barter over and bargain with. I am Shihouin, and I will remind you what that means._

Her fingers brushed the edge of her robe, and she smiled.

_Foolish Seimaru, not realising that things aren't always what they seem._

"If you're looking for Fujima, he's not here." Aitori was speaking, and Midori turned her focus fully to the conversation between Saku and her kinsman.

"He's not been here since early yesterday morning, and I don't know when he'll be back."

Saku hesitated for a moment, then she raised her gaze, meeting his with a cool, empty one of his own.

"Fujima-san isn't going to be coming back." She said softly. "He found some other work to do and decided it would be best if he left completely."

Saku's expression showed neither fear nor anxiety, and she stood before him calmly, the picture of an innocent passer-by who had just happened into Aitori's premises by accident. Inwardly, Midori marvelled at the way the young girl kept her countenance, congratulating her yet again on having released Saku from the Endou-ke's snare.

_She is smart and she has learnt how to survive. She is not ruthless, yet, but she could be, with time. Ruthless in her motives and unbending in her loyalties. That is the kind of servant I can cultivate. True, she is as yet uncomfortable when faced directly with death - but that is only inexperience. A matter of time and training, that's all._

She smiled.

_She may come from the fringes of Seireitei, but her reiatsu suggests that once her family may have been more than that. And even if she is nowhere near Clan level, I can make use of her. She is mine, now, after all. And I will teach her, step by step, exactly what that means. I cannot afford to forsake even the most base-born of allies - and she may have fallen to this level, but I can tell she wasn't always serving class. I can make use of that pride._

"Left?" Aitori paused in his leafing through of documents to stare at her in confusion. "What do you mean, leave? Why would he do that? He has a business arrangement to conclude, and..."

"I mean that he's left Soul Society, Aitori-san." Saku offered him a faint smile. "Completely."

Aitori's brows knitted together, pushing the documents aside as he reached for his weapon.

"Who are you?" He murmured, and Saku shook her head.

"Just a messenger." She said simply. "I am not armed, Aitori-san. Nor did I help Fujima-san on his way to the other side. I just happen to know it's true. That's all."

"And you came here, why? To tell me this, why?" Aitori's voice carried an edge to it, and his fingers closed around the dagger hilt. "Who are you? State your name, girl...before I slit your throat and leave you for the wolves to finish off!"

His eyes narrowed.

"You look nothing more than a town wench, but there is something in those eyes I don't like." He muttered. "They are far too clear. Far too cold. Far too open. I don't like it."

"You don't like people whose eyes are open or clear, Aitori?"

At that moment Midori decided to make her own entrance, allowing the faintest flicker of her own reiatsu to penetrate the small chamber as she slipped deftly between the slats and perched on the broad, flat sill of the window.

At the sight of her, Aitori's entire demeanour changed, and he gaped, taking a step back as his face blanched completely of colour.

"What's this?" Midori opened her golden eyes wide, affecting surprise. "Are you not happy to see me? Or have you just forgotten my name, in the long time it's been since we last spoke face to face?"

"M...M...Midori-sama." At length Aitori found his tongue, bowing his head slightly before her. "I'm sorry, I didn't...it wasn't..."

"You seem somehow _afraid_ of me." Midori tut-tutted, clambering nimbly down into the room proper until she stood a mere few feet away from her trembling kinsman. "Or is it simply that this place isn't the kind of place you'd like to be seen by a member of your Clan?"

Aitori didn't answer, and Midori's gaze flitted to Saku.

"Saku-chan, thank you for conveying my message to my kinsman." She said softly. "You do not have to remain here any longer. I already have another errand for you, and I would like you to begin it at once."

"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku bowed her head before her companion, then hurried from the room, not even stopping to look back.

Left alone with his companion, Aitori's brows knitted together.

"That girl is yours?" He murmured, and Midori nodded.

"A present from my fiancé." She said simply, her voice rich with sarcasm. "He's very kind and giving that way. But then I think you already know, don't you? How kind and giving Seimaru is."

"M...Midori-sama?" Aitori stared at her, and Midori's lips twitched into a predatory smile.

"We need to have a talk." She said evenly. "About your work for my Father and why it is that Seimaru seems to think you're in his back pocket. You know how Uncle and Father would feel, if they thought you were betraying the Clan in any way. Don't you?"

"Why would I betray my Clan?" Aitori demanded. "I'm here on your Father's business, as I have been for nigh on six years! Ever since he took over the wretched project - ever since that became his domain, I have worked tirelessly from here, acting as an agent even in plain sight. I put myself in danger on this Clan's account every day I act in his name. Deceiving Genryuusai-sensei isn't easy, after all!"

"The Endou-ke want to assassinate Genryuusai-sama." Midori murmured, and Aitori pursed his lips.

"Why should that concern you?" He asked.

"Because they seek to use a Shihouin to carry out the deed. Perhaps you. Perhaps Tomoyuki. Perhaps Kai."

"The Shihouin are assassins by blood." Aitori shrugged. "You shouldn't be squeamish, Midori-sama - not when it comes to the pride of families. Your cousin is a strong fighter but weak spiritually. He cannot release his _zanpakutou_, let alone be a contender to wear a _haori_ in the future. If Genryuusai-sensei succeeds, how is it to the benefit of our people? You are not stupid. You know what I mean."

"Yes. I know." Midori nodded her head. "I realise that my cousin's predicament is precarious and a threat to the stability of this Clan. And I also know how hard Father and others are working to try and prevent such an eventuality."

Her eyes narrowed.

"Are you really so foolish as to think that any Clan who attempted an assassination on Soul Society's most respected Shinigami would escape with their lives?" She asked coldly. "More, do you really think that you - or Kai, or Tomoyuki - or even all three of you together - would stand a chance of killing him? A man who has Bankai when none of you have even summoned a sword let alone released it to Shikai?"

"Are you here from concern for your brother, Midori-sama, or for another reason entirely?" Aitori asked, and Midori sighed.

"I came to find out _your_ side of the story." She said simply. "I've already heard Seimaru's. He believes you're his - bought and paid for. That you and the Shihouin will do his dirty work and pay the price for it. And then he and his family will absorb our land and gain influence on the Council through his marriage to me. Of course, he imagines me to be an innocent, helpless maiden without any particular influence of my own, which is his ignorance and his mistake. But much as his reckless, arrogant sadism frightens and disgusts me, I'm not his wife yet. And no matter if I was, I would still be a Shihouin. I wouldn't let him take my Clan to pieces for his own gain."

Aitori frowned.

"People have always said you were intelligent, Midori-sama. And I believe it too." He said softly. "Too intelligent to be blinded by Clan patriotism over pragmatic ends. Our family will end with your Uncle. As soon as your cousin inherits, the family will rise up and divide into factions once more. It will turn on itself and collapse back into the infighting of generations past. Yet you, by marrying into the Endou, have a chance to separate yourself from that and save yourself. By doing so, you'll save your Clan's bloodline. And keep the Shihouin alive."

"Perhaps." Midori admitted. "But there's a problem with that, Aitori."

She slid her fingers into the sash of her dusty kimono, her grip closing around the small, ornamental knife that bore the colours and seal of the Shihouin-ke across its decorated hilt. "I'm a Shihouin. And we live and die by our honour and our pride. This Clan doesn't live second to another. They do not become subservient. They slit their own throats rather than bow to another Clan's Lord instead of their own. You know those things as well as I do. That pride should run through your veins as sure as it does through mine. I'm surprised that it does not."

"I'm a realist." Aitori admitted. "At the end of the day, I don't see any profit in unnecessary death."

"But you _do_ see profit in smuggling chemical by-products out of District Two - and in dealing with District Seven in the same regard." Midori toyed with the knife idly, running her fingers pensively over the blunted silver blade. "You see a way to make yourself wealthy, by dealing illicit chemicals to the unsuspecting locals, and creaming the gold they pay you into your own pocket. Even if it puts Father and Uncle at risk, you still act that way. For your own benefit, and not for the benefit of the Clan."

"In this world, Midori-sama, it will soon be each for themselves." Aitori said frankly. "The Clan system is outdated, out-moded and will soon be overwhelmed by the new order of things. Genryuusai-sensei's Academy is just the first step in a long line to breaking down that hierarchy. Already there are those studying at that school who have more prepossessing reiatsu than ones like your unfortunate cousin. They are going to be the power of the future. And though I have kept my Clan's values and I have not encouraged these District children in any way or form - they are talented. Far too talented. Dangerous, even."

Midori was silent for a moment, digesting this. Then her lips thinned.

"Whatever world the future brings, we will endure." She murmured. "I have no doubt in that. So long as we don't submit to the greed of men like you, we will endure."

She spread her hands.

"I have sent my servant into the town, to discover the true facts behind a rumour we've both heard while travelling this way." She added. "About the murder of a girl in the forest near here. A _Clan_ murder, they're saying. A _Shihouin_ blade. I would like to hear it from you, too. Did you slay some town wench because she got in your way?"

"The girl was a spy and she outlived her usefulness, so she was dispatched." Aitori replied simply. "But not by me."

"No." Midori's eyes became near slits, as she gazed at him with glittering, feline eyes. "By Seimaru, but with your help. With your Shihouin blade, Aitori. Not the one you hold in your hands now, true enough - but that one is not yours. That blade belongs to my brother, does it not?"

Aitori glanced at it, then smiled, nodding.

"When he arrived, Genryuusai-sensei confiscated both his and Tomoyuki's assassin daggers." He agreed. "And gave them over to me as the Shihouin representative to safeguard until the end of the semester. This one is indeed Kai's blade - I suppose you can tell even without seeing the hilt clearly by the fact it's clean and devoid of either blood or scratches. Tomoyuki's currently hangs in my office back at school, conveniently gathering dust. My own was used, as you say, to despatch the girl. It has since been destroyed and the incriminating parts buried in places where it will not be found and identified by Clansfolk like you. But you shouldn't be so concerned by one insignificant woman's murder. Even if it was a Shihouin blade that slit her throat, it was not a Shihouin killing. All of the local Shihouin were accounted for at the time - and your fiancé is a talented fighter but he lacks the stealth of one of our people."

"What have you involved my brother in?" Midori asked softly, turning the knife over in her hands as she fixed Aitori with a dark glare. "Have you made him party to your smuggling and your scheming, too? Have you pushed him so far into a corner he'll do nothing but act for you, even if it's against his own family? Because if you have..."

"Kai's orders have not yet come." Aitori said simply. "Except for keeping an eye on his classmates - particularly the District born one - he has not had to do anything at all for Seimaru or for myself. Of course, that is subject to change...Kai is strong, after all, and has much potential as a shadow assassin."

"You mean, as Genryuusai-sama's potential assailant." Midori murmured, and Aitori shrugged.

"If your Uncle agrees to give the order, there's nothing you or I can do but obey it." He said facetiously, but Midori shook her head.

"I'm not going to let that order be given." She said flatly. "Whether from Uncle or from you. I won't. Because attacking Genryuusai-sama is little more than Clan suicide. And even if it means Kai is in danger, I won't let the Clan be pulled into the Endou-ke snare. You may have sold your soul to them, Aitori, but I haven't. Kai and I both bear the Clan's name, after all. We are true blooded Shihouin and we both believe in that fact."

She ran her finger over the blunt knife once more, gripping it in her left hand as she flicked it over so that the blade was now pointing in Aitori's direction.

"Do you know what this is?" She asked lightly, and Aitori snorted.

"A lady's ornamental knife." He said scornfully. "A blade that wouldn't cut through butter, let alone someone's throat."

"Very true." Midori smiled. "But mine is a very special one. Particularly special, in fact."

Her grip on the carved hilt tightened, and as she felt her reiatsu begin to flare around her body, the tip of the blade began to glitter with an unearthly red light.

"_Nagare_." She murmured softly, as the weapon began to shimmer and change shape. "_Akekage_."

"A...Ake...Akekage?" Aitori's expression changed, and he stared at her in horror. "You mean...that tiny thing..."

"Is my _zanpakutou_'s sealed form? Yes." Midori nodded, holding the weapon upright as it narrowed and lengthened into a needle tipped rapier, the colour of blood from hilt to tip except for the coal black ellipse that formed the guard between her hand and the deathly sharp blade. "Even Seimaru didn't think to look at a knife like this as a potential weapon when he held me prisoner - I've had it with me all the time."

She smiled.

"You've heard of it, then? My Akekage? My 'Blood Red Shadow'? I'm honoured."

She bowed her head towards him mockingly, and Aitori took a couple of steps back, his grip on his dagger tightening.

"I only release him when the time is right, because he has a tendency to be ruthless and violent and I find it hard to hold him back when he wants to hunt." Midori laughed, amusement in her golden eyes as she read Aitori's sudden flare of terror. "Tell me, Aitori Hideaki-san - I'm right, aren't I? You never _did_ yet manage to summon or release a sword, did you?"

She tut-tutted, shaking her head.

"Ah, but of course you didn't." She murmured. "You weren't the child of the last Shadow, after all. And you weren't personally trained by Uncle from dawn till dusk until you were about ready to drop from exhaustion and pain. You don't have any special skills at all to speak of, do you, Aitori? You don't even have the Shihouin name. You are simply on the outermost degree of an exclusive social circle - you couldn't possibly understand the feelings of those pitched closer to the core."

"What are you going to do with that thing?" Aitori demanded. "Kill me? Don't you think that you'll cause even more trouble, if you do that? I'm a respected teacher at the Academy, with the support of many people. I'm a member of the Shihouin-ke, and I act on your Father and Uncle's orders. Allying with the Endou-ke is also within their scope, too - the agreement sealed with your engagement is a part of that. You are the one who's turned your back on the family and abandoned your obligation to them by coming here. Do you think it's all right, if you use that death-weapon of yours to kill me?"

Midori glanced at the released Akekage for a moment, tilting it so that the specks of sunlight glinted off its smooth red surface.

"If I was to pierce this through your heart, you would die before you hit the ground." She said softly. "If I was to do that, no one would ever determine your cause of death. Akekage is so fine a point that only one who knew to look for it would find the tiny pin-prick against your skin."

She lowered the weapon, running her finger along its edge.

"The tip is coated with Akekage's own native poison, and that poison would stop your heart." She said lightly. "And once your heart stops, your blood doesn't flow. Where there's no blood flow, how can there be a wound? This is a true assassin's weapon, Aitori - if I killed you that way, no one would ever know."

Her gaze hardened, and she shook her head.

"But for one who's betrayed the Shihouin name for money and greed, I won't be so merciful or so delicate." She said flatly. "I am different from my brother in one way, Aitori. I have clan pride and I have ideals. But I am also not afraid to kill if killing is the best option open to me. Kai doesn't like the idea of shedding blood - he never has, and I suppose he never will. But I know that I'm a Shihouin. And that as such, death is part of my duty and my tradition. I'm not ashamed of it. Instead, I'll make it something of an art. That's why Mother left me the Shadow skill. And that's why you stand no chance of escaping me. _Ake no Odori_!"

She closed her eyes, spinning the blade around 360 degrees so that its glimmering tip seemed to draw a scarlet circle in the air between them. As her reiatsu flared around her body, she thrust her free right hand forward through the centre of the circle, feeling the warmth of the blade's own Kidou merging with her native strength as red light glittered towards the tips of her fingers.

"_Akekage, mae e_!" She exclaimed, as the full force of the combined flare burst forward, surging across the room and engulfing Aitori's undefended form in the harsh redness of its glare. He let out a shriek, but even as the bloodcurdling sound left his lips, the scorching magic drilled through his torso, blasting his chest wide open and piercing through to the organs beneath. As it seared his ribs and engulfed his heart, Aitori stumbled, his lifeless form slipping to the floor as the blaze cut through his spine, and as he dropped like a stringless puppet to the ground, his entire body glowed with vermillion light, sending blood and ash scattering in a perfect circle around his fallen corpse.

Slowly Midori lowered her sword, the light fading as she eyed the scene with a critical, detached gaze.

"Well, its done, Akekage." She murmured, as the weapon shimmered and slipped back into its sealed form. "I could have been cleaner about it, but this man is one who deserved no mercy. I want a message to be sent to everyone - that Aitori Hideaki betrayed the Shihouin and met your wrath because of it. It's clear enough, from this, who did the deed. And if Uncle calls me before him and demands to know why, I'll speak to him and him alone. But in the meantime...the Shihouin's loose thread is severed."

She sighed, suddenly feeling tired.  
_  
First Fujima, now Aitori. It's been a busy day. And it's far from over. If Saku discovers anything of use in the town...there may be more who need to be silenced before this is truly over. And while I'm here, I need to find out exactly what Aitori kept here. Whether there's anything here which proves his affiliation to Seimaru. Or that proves his role in smuggling things to my Father._

She slid the weapon back into her sash.

Someone nearby would have no doubt felt the flare of her magic, and it would not be long before they were on the scene. She had little time to stand around and muse about things to come. Treading neatly over the body of her victim, she paused briefly to gaze down at his glassy, staring eyes, tut-tutting under her breath as she realised that the hole in his chest had not burnt a perfect circle.

"Too eager to hunt this time, Akekage." She murmured, patting her sash absently. "It's not very pretty - but it got the job done. Still, next time I expect better. I'm a lady, after all. I should be able to make my work aesthetic at the very least."

Somewhere at the back of her senses she felt the dull hum of her weapon's consciousness, and she smiled.

"No, it wasn't an easy one, this time." She agreed. "Because he was kin. It's never nice, to slay one's family...but this one was a traitor to the Clan, Akekage. Don't grumble about it so, all right? You understand, so don't pretend you don't. Hopefully with the leak removed, it will mean better things for the rest of us - and you don't truly want us to go back to being in that awful Seimaru's brick cage?"

She pushed back the door, stepping through into the hallway and up the stairs to the top chamber, feeling her way carefully as she negotiated the narrow, steep staircase. A quick glance had satisfied her that the documents Aitori had been reading when she had arrived had been those relating to the school which had acted as a respectable front for his smuggling for the past six years, and so she knew that if there were any tell-tale links to the Shihouin's illicit chemical experiments, it would be doubtless concealed in a more inaccessible location.

_Maybe paperwork connecting him to the Endou, too - though I'm not so worried about that. Let Seimaru get his wrists slapped - I'm only concerned with what affects my family._

The sudden sense of another reiatsu approaching the property made her pause, muttering a curse as she pushed back the door of the tiny upstairs chamber and slipping inside. For a moment she hesitated, trying to discern where she had felt the aura before, but try as she might she could not put her finger on who was approaching the house.

She muttered another curse, morphing into her cat form and nudging her discarded peasant clothing into a dark corner of the chamber. In the form of the Shadow Cat, she was not able to use the same level of Kidou as when she was in her proper body, yet as she put her paws to the aging fabric, it smouldered and burnt to ash and cinders beneath her touch. Leaping up onto the ledge, she hesitated for a moment as she tried to place the encroaching flickers of that familiar yet unfamiliar reiatsu, drawing closer as it was all the time. In a moment or two they would discover Aitori's body, and all hell would be let loose.

_All hell indeed. And I still haven't completed my work here._

She frowned, her sharp feline gaze taking in a casket pushed somewhat behind the leg of an old, worn desk, and she hopped neatly across onto the desk's surface, gazing down at the sealed box with a mixture of interest and frustration.

_It might be. It might not be. Either way, I can't take the chance that it is, and leave it behind._

She skipped down onto the box, spreading her claws and digging them deep into the box as she channelled flickers of her Kidou magic into the wood, smoke rising from inside as the contents began to smoulder in the same way as the dress. It was not enough to set the property alight, but Midori felt fairly certain that by the time it was discovered, the box's contents would be entirely destroyed.

_And that's the best I can hope for. With any luck, they'll be more concerned with the rather large and obvious corpse than they will be in ferreting out documents hidden in unknown crevasses. I can't stay here or I'll be caught before I've had a chance to finish what I'm doing - and for the time being, that's not an option. I need to speak to Genryuusai-sama before I can face the justice of either my Clan or the Endou-ke's cage once again.  
_  
She jumped down onto the floor, nuzzling in the ashy remains of her clothing for the glittering hilt of her _zanpakutou_ then, grasping it up between her jaws, she leapt up onto the window ledge, gauging the distance to the ground as she left the property for the safety and cover of a clump of nearby bushes.

They were sharp and scratchy, but at least she was no longer in the house. As she shook herself free from the clinging briars, she set her wits to tracking down Saku's low but distinctive reiatsu.

_I have no clothing, but that doesn't matter for now. The Shadow Cat is a better disguise for the time being - but a cat with a knife is distinctive and its better if Saku carries this until such times as I can regain my full form again. After all, this is District One. Who knows who I can truly trust here, aside from her?_

* * *

_**  
**_**Author's Note: OC Name Kanji (Part Three)**

I couldn't reference these two properly earlier in the story without giving away their connection or their role, but better late than never...

**Midori**'s name (緑) means "green" or "greenery." I guess it's a family theme with Kai's japonica tree ;)

And Shunsui's friend from the prequel:

~**Etsuo Saku** 悦朗朔.  
Etsuo uses the kanji for 'joy' or 'rapture' (etsu) and 'serene' or 'bright' (o). On the theme of having freedom in her eyes, you see :)

Saku means quite simply 'new month' so you can interpret it as 'new beginning', I think, too.  
_It's not a short form of Sakuya or Sakura or any other Japanese girl's name. It's just 'Saku' on it's own. _


	21. Hirata's Secret

**Chapter Twenty: Hirata's Secret**

Hirata had not expected it to be so easy to slip into town on his own.

As he walked up through the big settlement gates, he tapped his fingers idly against the folds of his _hakama_, running his mind over that morning's events one by one as he did so. Immediately after breakfast, Shunsui had pulled Juushirou to one side, asking him something about going out in hushed tones, and not long after that the two of them had disappeared in the direction of the Principal's office, clearly bent on obtaining passes to leave the school grounds and venture into the outside.

Normally such a happening would have rent Hirata up inside with envy, for he was sharp enough to have noticed the growing closeness between his two classmates and deep down inside he envied how easily Shunsui had slipped into their group, threatening to displace both him and the good-natured Enishi from Juushirou's attentions. Yet today it had been relief, not jealousy that had washed through his slim body and, once he was sure they were no longer within school grounds, he had made an excuse to his fellow dorm members, hurrying down the hallways to obtain his own pass.

His fingers closed around the tablet, a faint flicker of guilt in his pale eyes.

He had told Genryuusai-sensei that he was going with Juushirou and Shunsui, and that he had just been slower out of the Dining Hall than they were. First Year students were not, after all, supposed to leave the school grounds on their own for they were largely unprotected, and so a dictum had been in place since first night that all trips into the local area must be done in groups of two or more. Yet Genryuusai had not questioned him – he had simply given his permission and waved him out of the office. As he reflected on it, Hirata realised the old man had been distracted – but in the end, it had worked to his advantage.

And here he was, out on his own.

He pursed his lips, thinking this over in his mind.

_Would Ukitake-kun be angry, if he knew I was sneaking around like this? Maybe he would. Maybe he would but…I can't just sit back and not do anything. If what Kyouraku-kun said in the dorm that night is true…and Shihouin-kun, too. He was worried…and he more or less intimated that Aitori-sensei was behind it. So if that's the case, and Aitori's working for my people, maybe I can find something out from him. Even if he'd be cross that I was doing it on my own – surely Ukitake-kun would forgive me, if in the end it helped to sort out the truth from the lies?_

He sped up his pace, slipping through the back alleys of the little town as he made his way towards the property he knew belonged to the Hohou instructor. Though he had never been there himself, he had heard other students talking enough to know its precise location and, despite his retiring demeanour and feeble physical presence, there was nothing wrong with his memory or his wits.

_I'm sure Ukitake-kun would understand if he knew I was going to help Shihouin-kun. Though I wonder if I am. The way he looked…it's more than obvious to me what it is that his family are involved in. And I wonder…I wonder about Grandfather and Seimaru too now, knowing that. Because Seimaru's always threatening to hurt us – he and Grandfather both. Would they use that kind of research to do that? Would they seek to enhance their own strength in such desperate ways simply to eliminate our side of this dispute?  
_  
He sighed, shaking his head as if to clear it.

_Whatever they're planning, I know they're involved. So I have to find out for myself. And I have to do it alone. Because after what Onoe-kun said about Ukitake-kun, I can't risk him being dragged into this. Any of it, no matter how small. If Clans are dealing in illicit drugs, I won't let people think Ukitake-kun's their guinea pig. No matter what happens – I won't let him get hurt._

And with this resolve inside of him, he started purposefully up the dirt track that led to the front of the Hohou master's estate.

As he did so, however, a sudden flare of reiatsu seared across his senses and he stopped dead, eyes big and frightened as he tried to place where it had come from. The next moment, he felt another, a burst of blood-lust Kidou that sent the first wave paling in comparison, and his heart froze in his chest as he interpreted what the two things meant. He had felt reiatsu like that before, in the moments when his Uncle or his cousin had been truly angry, and though this release was at least twice as powerful as anything Seimaru had ever produced, he still understood only too well what it was.

_A_ zanpakutou's_ release. And one from someone who means to give no mercy._

For a moment, nothing – not even the air around him – seemed to move, as the traces of the spiritual flare slowly dispersed and faded into the surrounding ether. Then, as Hirata got a grip on his senses, he saw something out of the corner of his eye and he turned, catching a fleeting glimpse of a black cat leaping from the window of a second storey chamber, something glittering and indistinct clenched in its jaws.

It did not pause nor turn back, but disappeared into the undergrowth, and as it did so, Hirata felt the oppressive presence begin to leave the scene, as little by little the birds once more began to sing in the trees and the insects recommenced their buzzing from flower to flower.

Only Hirata's heart remained chilled with the truth of what he had felt and seen.

_A black cat. The Shadow Cat. Shihouin Midori._

He closed his eyes as a wave of giddy fear and confusion washed over him, then he got a hold of his wits, raising his gaze once more to the building from which the cat had jumped.

_Aitori-sensei's property. That flare…then the cat…I'm sure of it. I'm sure I'm right. That sword's reiatsu belonged to a Shihouin, after all. And I've heard Father talk about the Shihouin's Shadow Cat legacy. Although he never said that Midori-dono was one of them – I'm sure he wouldn't have told me so specifically without a reason. Shihouin-kun said it too, that his sister was _the_ shadow, didn't he? There has to be a connection…but if I followed her, would she attack me too? Even though I'm Endou-ke? Or perhaps, _because_ I'm Endou-ke?_

His eyes widened as he rationalised his train of thought.

_Attack? But…if she released her _zanpakutou_, does that mean…?_

Almost before this thought had passed through his mind, he had sped up his pace, all hesitation flowing from his body as he hurried towards the main door of the property. It was not properly locked, merely fastened on a loose catch, and Hirata bit his lip, spreading his hand against the wood as he pushed his full weight against it. At first it did not give, then a slight gap appeared, and he slipped a thin, pale finger between the divide, forcing the catch up and sliding the door back on its runners as he charged into the room.

What he saw there took his breath away, colour draining from his young features as he registered the scene of carnage that lay before him. Sprawled on the floor of the chamber was the Hohou instructor, and as he took a reluctant step closer, Hirata could see that the man was dead, a portion of his chest burnt to ash and cinders so badly that the boy could see the cold wood of the floor through the gaping wound. His eyes were open, glassy and unseeing yet filled with an unspeakable terror, as though his dying moments had been equal to crossing through the gates of Hell, and as if to confirm this further, blood and ash was spattered around his corpse, making a distinct circle as though marking out the body for a particular, perverse ritual.

Hirata swallowed hard, feeling sick and dizzy at the sight.

_I was right, then. That cat was the Shadow Cat. And this is a Shihouin killing. A killing meant to be noticed…not one done in the shadows._

He made to leave the room in search of help, but as he did so, he paused, biting his lip as he remembered the other reason for his coming.

_I wanted to know what Seimaru-dono was involved in. What he was planning and whether or not it was dangerous for the rest of our Clan. So even though Aitori-sensei can't tell me, I can't just run away. Father and Mother and Eiraki-chan might suffer for it, if I do. I can't have that. I was sent here to learn how to help protect my kin, after all. So I can't just walk away. Just in case…_

He frowned, steeling himself against the horrific scene as he stepped gingerly around the dead man's cooling limbs, being careful not to touch anything or contaminate the scene with his presence. Though he was still trembling with the aftermath of that tremendous reiatsu and though the bile rose in his throat at the sight of so much blood and carnage, somehow he kept himself moving forwards, strengthening his resolve with every step he made. He could _not_ pass out now. His family's future and Clan's safety might depend on it!

_If I do this, no one must know about it. Not even Ukitake-kun. Especially not Ukitake-kun. In this case, I wonder…he might not understand. That what I do might protect Seimaru – no, I think he wouldn't understand._

He frowned, gazing down at the blood-speckled papers on Aitori's desk. They were mostly school related, but as he squinted at them through the lenses of his glasses, his gaze caught sight of a familiar emblem and he frowned, carefully and painstakingly prising the document free of its companions as he glanced over it.

As he did so, his heart stilled in his chest once more as it confirmed the worst of his suspicions.

_Seimaru _is_ involved. With the chemicals. With Megumi-san's murder. With _everything_. And worse – worse than that. That's why Midori-sama came here. That's why she killed Aitori. Because Aitori was working with my cousin – and was going to betray his Clan._

He clenched the paper tightly in his fist, fighting against his rising panic and hysteria.

_I must get this to Father. Somehow, he must know about it before Genryuusai-sensei or anyone else. Because if Seimaru was really going to have the Shihouin try to kill Genryuusai-sensei, everything that we've been working towards would be over. I'm not ready to use my spirit power yet. I haven't learnt to command my sword. Even if I am Father's best hope for the future, I haven't reached a point where I can challenge Seimaru honestly for the stability of our Clan. For now, if he falls, we all do. And even if that means that I'm protecting him – I have no choice._

He slipped the letter into his _obi_, gazing over the scene for anything else that might connect his Clan to the scene, but there was nothing. A few random ashes in the grate soon told him why – that even in the midst of a hot District One Summer, Aitori had seen fit to start a fire. Hirata bit his lip, realising the implications of this with a giddy mixture of guilt and relief. Clearly the teacher had been efficient at burning delicate correspondence once he had read it, and had been as meticulous at tidying up loose ends as he had been at nit-picking his students' papers.

_But this one he didn't get a chance to. So I'll take it. And then no one else need know how low the Endou-ke has sunk._

He cast Aitori's body one last glance, distress in his blue eyes as he took in once more the violence of the scene.

_Though I don't think I could ever do that to someone and walk away. I don't understand how anyone could…maybe Seimaru's underestimated Midori-dono after all._

He stepped out into the sunlight, and as he did so, he felt the distinctive flickers of his classmates' reiatsu heading in his direction. Relief broke through his concerns and he hurried to meet them, panic and hysteria finally winning through his earlier forced calm as he registered Juushirou's comforting aura drawing nearer.

"Ukitake-kun!" he exclaimed. "Kyouraku-kun, come quickly! Come quickly!"

"Hirata?" Juushirou paused, staring at him in surprise, and Hirata grabbed his friend's sleeves, gazing up at him with pleading, desperate eyes.

"You have to come." He whispered. "Something's happened. Something h…horrible!"

"Woah there boy." Shunsui's strong arms grabbed hold of him before he could fall headlong, as at last the shock and horror of what he had seen began to fully seep in. "What's happened? What are you doing here, out by yourself?"

"Did you come looking for us?" Juushirou looked guilty. "I'm sorry, Hirata-kun. We took off without telling you, didn't we?"

Hirata swallowed hard, closing his eyes as he composed himself, then,

"I felt something strong." He whispered. "And I came here, but…it's too late. And I saw…"

He shuddered, feeling Shunsui's grip on him tighten.

"You were drawn here by that flare too, huh?" He asked gently, and Hirata nodded, raising plaintive blue eyes to his companion.

"Aitori-sensei." He managed weakly, and Shunsui's brows knitted together.

"Juu, this one's going to fall down if I don't put him down, and he'd rather you stayed with him than me." He said frankly, turning to his companion as he did so. "Whatever's happened, he's not going to be able to articulate it – he's shaking hard enough to pass out, so if I let him go, can you be ready to take him? I don't think his own legs are going to hold him much longer."

"No problem." Hirata could hear the concern in Juushirou's voice as he was carefully lowered to his knees, the other boy slipping a comforting arm around his shoulders. "All right, Shunsui. I've got him. If you want to go see what's happened, we'll be all right."

"Right." Shunsui nodded and, as the taller boy sped off in the direction of Aitori's desecrated house, Hirata sank back against Juushirou's thin form with a shuddery sigh.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, and Juushirou looked startled.

"Sorry? For what? Obviously something's happened and obviously it's scared you – but you've done nothing that needs apologising for. Just sit tight for a while, okay? I won't let you go, so you needn't worry about falling over. Do you feel sick or faint?"

"Mm. Some." Hirata wet his lips, then, "I'm glad I found you."

"Me too, if you're in this state." Juushirou said gently. "Can you talk about it? Or…?"

"Kyouraku-kun…when he comes back…will be able to tell you better than me." Hirata murmured. "I don't want to think about it any more."

Juushirou's clever eyes narrowed, and he frowned.

"Someone attacked Aitori-sensei, didn't they?" He asked softly, and wordlessly Hirata nodded his head.

"And…killed him?"

Again, Hirata nodded.

"And it was that violent that it's made you like this." Juushirou bit his lip. "I hope Shunsui knows what he's going into, in that case. I think I got the easy job, looking after you."

"That's why he did it." Hirata murmured. "So you wouldn't have to."

"How do you mean?" Juushirou looked startled, and Hirata smiled weakly.

"Kyouraku-kun already knew Aitori-sensei was dead." He managed faintly. "I could see it. In his eyes. When I met you. That's why he left me with you. He wants to see for himself – and he doesn't want you to have to."

"It's that bad?" Juushirou's expression became one of consternation. "I know Shunsui thought it was a _zanpakutou_ but…did _you_ think that, too?"

Hirata nodded.

"A Shihouin one." He whispered. "She was leaving a message, Ukitake-kun."

"She?" Juushirou frowned. "So it was…Midori-sama?"

Hirata hesitated for a moment, then,

"I saw a black cat leaving the building, when I got there." He murmured. "She disappeared and I don't know where she went. I was worried – I thought Aitori-sensei might be hurt or…or need help. But…"

"But it was too late." Juushirou sighed. "It's all right, Hirata. It's none of it your fault – you needn't look so guilty. If that was a _zanpakutou_, none of us would've stood a chance against it. We're still in basic level Kidou and _bokutou _only Kenjitsu. We'd be cut to ribbons."

He cast his companion a glance.

"It's the first time I've ever felt one released." He admitted. "It was a little scary – dark and cloying and…like it was slipping through all of my senses. Are they always like that, Hirata? You've come across them before, surely…your Clan has people who can use _zanpakutou_, right?"

"Grandfather and Seimaru." Hirata agreed reluctantly. "It's said Grandmother has one too, but I've never seen it so I don't know if it's just a rumour - Endou-ke women aren't encouraged to train with swords, after all. They…I don't think they're the same as this one. But even so…yes. If you can feel it…it seeps through your senses and rips them apart. Unless your senses are equal to it, and know how to push it back."

"I guess it's proof we have a lot to learn." Juushirou chewed on his lip. "But if that was Shihouin-kun's sister…the sister that he loves as much as all that…"

"She's a Shihouin." Hirata said simply. "That's how it is. But I don't think she would have killed Aitori-sensei without a reason. They're not stupid enough to do that. Which means…"

"Aitori was a traitor." Juushirou sighed. "What are we mixed up in? I came here to school, not to be trapped in between Clans and intrigues and whatever else. Maybe Sora was right, on our first day, when she called me naïve. Maybe Kuchiki-kun had a point, too. But I'm starting to wonder if becoming a Shinigami is really such a good thing. I mean, if a _zanpakutou_ can do something like that…"

"_Zanpakutou_ are weapons, Juu." At that moment Shunsui returned, and the two boys gazed up at him, Hirata taking in the dark look in his brown eyes. "At the end of the day, that's why we have them. To fight. To defend ourselves. To purify Hollows. And if you're Clan, to kill or be killed."

"Shunsui…" Juushirou's voice became troubled, and the older boy sighed, dropping down on the ground.

"Whenever I leave the school, someone gets murdered." He said flatly. "Hirata, that's what upset you, isn't it? Finding Aitori like that. I'm sorry we left without you, if that's the case – he's a mess and I know you don't like gore. You had enough trouble when Yama-jii made us view Megumi's body, after all."

"I feel a little better, now." Hirata admitted, and Shunsui cast him a rueful smile.

"I thought leaving you with Juu might help." He agreed. "But we need to get back to school and report this. Now, if possible. Can you stand?"

"Mm. I think so." Hirata agreed, and Juushirou got to his feet, holding out his hands to pull his young companion upright.

"We'll take it slowly, even so." He said quietly. "Hirata's still pale, Shunsui…whatever happened in there, it's given him a big shock."

"Not surprised in the least, having seen it." Shunsui said frankly. "She made a mess of him, no doubt about that."

"She…?" Hirata's head shot up, then, "So you think it was Midori-dono too?"

"Pretty sure, from the aura." Shunsui nodded. "You agree, then?"

"Hirata saw a cat. A black one." Juushirou said quietly. "Leaving the premises from an upstairs window."

"Then that pretty much confirms it, though there wasn't much room for doubt." Shunsui said honestly. "She meant him to be found. If she hadn't, we probably never would."

He cast Juushirou a pensive look.

"I told you, didn't I? Just because she's Kai-kun's beloved big sister doesn't make her cuddly, cute or a damsel in distress. Shihouin women are notoriously strong-willed and often very powerful. And from the state Aitori's in, I'd wager Midori-dono isn't any disappointment in that department."

"Question is, why is she here?" Juushirou wondered. "Just to deal with Aitori-sensei? Is she on our side, or another side, or her own side? Are there even sides any more? I'm getting more confused the longer this goes on and I don't like it. Now _zanpakutou_ are being brought into it to murder Academy teachers who may or may not be involved in illicit things and…I really thought I came to District One to go to school!"

"Welcome to Clan society, Juu." Shunsui said darkly. "I told you first day, didn't I? That sometimes you regret knowing things when you know more about them."

"But if _zanpakutou _are like that…"

"All _zanpakutou_ are different." Hirata said softly. "They come from someone's soul, so they have to be. That's why Kyouraku-kun and I could tell that was a Shihouin-ke blade. Because of something in the aura."

He shrugged.

"It's said all Endou-ke blades are birds of prey in spirit." He added. "And certainly that's true if you go by Grandfather and Seimaru's alone."

"Hirata's right." Shunsui nodded. "Yours would never be like that, Juu-kun. So don't look so worried. You couldn't ever do to someone what that dame has done to Aitori."

He offered a faint smile.

"Father's _zanpakutou_ was beautiful, Mother once told me." He added. "I never saw it myself, because he'd long since hung it up and abandoned it when I was born. But she said that, when she first met him, she saw it once. And its aura was beautiful."

"Your Father's…?" Hirata faltered, then, "Kyouraku-kun, your Father was a Shinigami?"

"Eighth District's. Yes." Shunsui nodded. "Though it's easy not to know, because he didn't spend much time doing his job. Our family aren't like some of the other Clans, who, since the embargo on _zanpakutou _use was relaxed somewhat, seek to train multiple people to bear swords. The Kyouraku choose only the strongest in each Clan generation – whether they're the head or not – and they alone are trained in readiness for the Gotei _haori_. My brother is head of my Clan now, but though he's a strong soldier with a powerful aura, he's only barely managed to summon a _zanpakutou_ spirit in the past couple of years. He only did it because Sora's mother told him he'd be a pitiful Head of Clan if he couldn't at least bear a proper sword at his waist, instead of a training _asauchi,_ so he took her at her word and worked at it. Even so, he's not yet been able to release it and control its Shikai. My Uncle never even got that far – he lived and died a soldier, but never a Shinigami. _I_ was to be Father's successor in that regard – everyone knew that when I was born, although I've done all I could to avoid it. That still hangs over me, though, even now. With Father gone, District Eight still has no official Gotei representative, even now. And also it means…"

"You're the strongest in the Kyouraku-ke." Hirata whispered, and Shunsui nodded, looking embarrassed.

"Says a lot for my family, that, doesn't it?" He said frankly. "But yes. _Potentially _speaking. I've a long way to go yet before I'm really in Father's league."

He spread his hands.

"You and I have this in common a little bit, Hirata." He added. "My Uncle wanted to train me to kill my brother and take over the Clan – because he knew I had that strength and would be able to do it. And I think…it's the same for your Father and his brother, isn't it? He was the heir, and now your cousin Seimaru – but your Father was the stronger of the two. Wasn't he?"

"Yes." Hirata looked surprised. "That's true. He was. But he's not been allowed to train enough to summon a _zanpakutou_. So now, I suppose, Seimaru has surpassed him."

"And now he's sent you to be trained instead." Shunsui eyed Hirata keenly. "And you're not exactly a weakling, spiritually speaking – even if you don't like gore. You ranked fifth, after all – even though you're a good two years younger than most of us. So your Father must be thinking, if _he _can't stand up for your family…"

"_I_ might." Hirata's heart clenched in his throat, and he nodded. "Yes. That's what he hopes. But whether I'll have the time…Grandmother is very ill, now, after all. And it all depends on her, really. She's the only thing stopping Seimaru and Grandfather from eliminating us completely."

"I'm starting to look forward to going home to my quiet District family in my quiet coastal region where none of this kind of thing happens." Juushirou said acidly, and Shunsui nodded.

"I might join you." He said wryly. "But then, _you_ were the one, weren't you, who said if you didn't like something you should use your strength to change it. Are you backtracking on that now?"

"No." Juushirou sighed, and Hirata thought he saw a flicker of weariness in the boy's eyes. "I still feel that way. Just, I suppose I wasn't quite prepared for the ins and outs of mixing with Clan. That's all. It's going to take a little bit longer than I thought to get my head fully around it all."

"I don't think you ever really do." Shunsui reflected. "You just live with it and move on."

At that moment they reached the school, and as they crossed into the grounds, Kai came hurrying towards them.

"Kyouraku!" He exclaimed, his eyes big with a mixture of alarm and hope, and Shunsui hesitated, consternation crossing his features.

"Yes." He said simply, and at his words, Kai's expression became troubled.

"Then she's safe." He murmured. "I knew it. I thought I felt…but when I did, I wasn't sure if it was safe for me…"

"I was too late. I'm sorry." Shunsui said gravely. "I didn't find her in time. And I still can't tell you where she is, because even though Hirata saw a black cat leave the scene, none of us know where she went. She really is impossible to trace when in that form."

"It _was_ Akekage, then, that I felt." Kai glanced at his hands. "Midori-neesama...really is...intending to act."

"Is that why we came out, after all?" Juushirou shot Shunsui a startled glance. "For _Shihouin-kun_'s sake? Not just to_ find _Midori-sama...but to stop her from...from what?"

"From doing what she did." Shunsui said blackly.

Juushirou's brows knitted together.

"So you deceived me?" He asked softly. "You knew we were going to look for someone who might do something dangerous, yet you didn't tell me? You didn't even think that, if it was urgent as that, that maybe we'd be going into danger ourselves?"

"Yes, and no." Shunsui admitted. "Are you cross we did? I did tell you that she wasn't necessarily a cuddly creature, didn't I? And I thought you wanted to help Shihouin-kun find out information about his sister too – did I misunderstand?"

Juushirou was silent for a moment, an unreadable look crossing his sallow features, then he shook his head.

"No. I _do_ want to help." He said quietly, and somehow Hirata could tell that his classmate was not as calm as his words appeared. "I just wish you'd told me clearly from the start, that's all. If you trust me, Shunsui, I'd like to know everything up front. Otherwise I'm not a particularly good partner in crime."

"Juu-kun?" Shunsui faltered, genuine surprise flickering across his dark eyes, and Juushirou offered him a faint, humourless smile.

"I'm naïve. I'm District. I don't know everything." He said simply. "I won't pretend I do. But I don't need to be protected from things. If we were going to find Shihouin-kun's sister and we were looking on his asking – then it would have been fine with me. There don't need to be secrets or intrigue between friends…otherwise they're not really friends after all. And I don't suppose it would've made a difference - not where Aitori-sensei was concerned. But we'll never know, now, if it would. If I'd known why we were going into town - maybe we wouldn't've come back here to report the news we do."

"Aitori?" Kai's expression became one of consternation, and Juushirou met his gaze with an even, reproachful one of his own.

"I can tell from your expression that you already know, but it seems he had a visitor." He said softly. "Only he won't be telling anyone about it - or anything else, either. Because now he's dead."

He cast Hirata a glance, and the boy's own heart clenched at the expression in his friend's eyes, the letter seeming to burn a hole against his body as he remembered the secret he too was now keeping from his classmate.

"We'll go up to the Dorm, and you can rest." He suggested. "You're still pale, and Sensei can ask Shunsui all the things he needs to know. I'll come with you – let's go now."

And with that he turned on his heel, leading his diminutive classmate across the grass towards the main building.

For a moment they walked in silence, then,

"Are you cross with Kyouraku-kun, after all?" Hirata ventured, and Juushirou sighed, rubbing his temples.

"No. Not really." He admitted. "It's not that. I'm just frustrated with the things I don't know. And even though people keep telling me I don't need to know them – the truth is that I do. I need to know everything. Even the ugly things. Because I've made up my mind to see this through to the end, wherever that happens to be. And if I'm going to have any chance of being a Shinigami, I need to understand their world. Otherwise I'm not any use to anyone. And it bothers me - even if I know there was nothing we could have done to intervene. Whether me not knowing why we were there meant we went to Aitori-sensei's house too late. Whether we might have gone there first, if we'd discussed it more clearly. Whether..."

He groaned, shaking his head.

"I know it's probably pointless thinking." He admitted. "But I don't like to think that someone died - and that we were nearby."

"I don't think Kyouraku-kun meant to deceive you."

"He probably didn't even think of it that way." Juushirou admitted. "And maybe I'm childish because it bothered me. But even so, he said that he could trust me. And I'm old school about this – trust to me means that. It doesn't mean from time to time. It means all of the time – or not at all."

He eyed his friend doubtfully.

"Is that wrong? Or naïve? Or both?"

"No." Hirata looked troubled. "The thing is, though, Ukitake-kun – Clan aren't like that. Because sometimes they have things they need to protect – and secrets they need to keep. Even Kyouraku-kun. Even me. Even Houjou-kun. Things we know that might spell success or disaster for the whole of our family, not just ourselves. Kyouraku-kun's grown up with that over his head. Besides, Shihouin-kun seems to trust him now. But he doesn't want to trust you, because you're District. Perhaps keeping it secret was something he asked Kyouraku-kun to do, too."

"Maybe, but Shunsui could at least have said that he couldn't tell me, instead of pretending it was for his own curiosity's sake."

"Maybe he thought it was simpler." Hirata murmured. "And he didn't want you thrown too much into the Clan squabbles. You don't want to be there, after all. If Midori-dono killed Aitori-sensei in a manner like that, that's clear indication that something big is about to happen in the Shihouin-ke. And the Clans…some of them…might be worried about you already. Because you're dangerous…you don't fit the rules."

"I'm getting sick of that, too." Juushirou said frankly, as they began mounting the stairs to the boys' dormitory. "I'm here and on my own merit. I've proved it now, twice – at entrance and with our recent exams. I've got two arms, two legs and a head, just like the rest of you. My eyes see just as much, my ears hear just as much, my brain works just as well. By a twist of fate I was born into my family instead of yours or his – that's all. And if Clans murder one another and their own people for power and influence, I'm glad of that fact. But I'm not different from all of you. The only thing that makes us different is Clan people saying that we are. Nothing else. Nothing else at all."

Hirata's eyes widened as he interpreted the bitterness in his companion's tones.

"Ukitake…kun?"

"I'm sorry. I'm taking it out on you, too." Juushirou sighed, rubbing his temples. "It's not your fault. I think I'm just tired – it's not just today but all of it. Everything."

"Kyouraku-kun will probably be worried, now, because you left him behind." Hirata reflected. "I would be, if I was him."

"Do you think so?" Juushirou smiled wryly. "I doubt it."

Hirata shook his head.

"I don't like it, sometimes, when Kyouraku-kun is always there." He admitted, his cheeks flushing red at the admission. "I get jealous, and think he's stealing you away from me. You're _my_ friend, after all – and I don't want that to change."

"It won't." Juushirou looked startled. "No matter how many friends I have, Hirata – you have my word on that. I always have room for new friends – it doesn't mean I'm going to forsake the old ones."

"Kyouraku-kun respects you a lot, though." Hirata said earnestly. "He doesn't say it, necessarily, but even so it's true. He's stronger than me and he doesn't really need to have people around him to support him when there's something he wants to do. But even so, it matters to him what you think. It's not the same with the rest of us, even though he seems to like us – if he upset one of us, it wouldn't bother him too long. But I think he'll be bothered about this. Because he's as fond of you as I am. That's all."

Juushirou did not answer at first, pushing back the door and leading the way inside as he sank down onto his empty bunk.

Then, at length,

"Aitori-sensei didn't like me, and we didn't get along." He murmured. "I didn't see his body, yet somehow this seems to bother me far more than it does either you or Shunsui. Even though both of you stumbled onto it - even though you were ready to pass out when we found you. It's as though you've both accepted it as one of those things that happens. And even though it will be reported, what will be done about it? Nothing happened with Megumi-san's murder, and even though Shunsui said he wants justice, he's still not told me who he thinks the culprit is. He says he can't prove it, and that's all. And now this - is this going to happen the same way?"

"Probably." Hirata sighed, dropping down onto his own bed, then, "Ukitake-kun, I'm sorry. Our Clans never do anything but give you a bad impression of them, do they?"

"I thought we were talking about the Shihouin, Hirata-kun. Not the Endou."

"Mm." Hirata looked troubled, then he slid his hand into his _obi_, pulling out the crumpled, blood spattered letter and holding it out. "Because I...I've been hiding something too. And I wasn't going to tell you about it, but I...I don't want you to think that I keep things from you too, Ukitake-kun. Out of everyone here, I trust you the most of all and I don't want something that I know to put you in danger. That's why I came into town by myself this morning, after all. I didn't want to involve you because I know my Clan already has a vitriolic aversion to District born Shinigami ever being accepted into the Gotei ranks. But what you said about Aitori-sensei...you're right. Maybe not telling you is as dangerous as telling you. And I don't want to lie to you."

Juushirou stared at him for a moment, taking the sheet of paper and glancing at it.

"Where did you get this?"

"Aitori-sensei." Hirata admitted, and Juushirou's eyes widened.

"But...wasn't he...?"

"Dead when I found him? Yes." Hirata nodded, swallowing hard as he remembered the scene once more. "But I took it from his desk. Because...because..."

"Because it's from the Endou-ke. From your cousin." Juushirou skimmed his gaze down the columns of Kanji, his brows knitting together as he read it. "And it means that he and Aitori-sensei were plotting together."

"I think Seimaru killed Megumi-san. Either he did it, or his men did." Hirata said softly. "I think Kyouraku-kun thinks so too, but because it's dangerous to accuse someone so high up without proof, he can't say it. And he won't say it to you, because if you said it to anyone else, there'd be no Clan to back you up and shield you from the backlash. And though I don't think he thinks you'd talk about it freely...if something happened..."

"Need to know information, huh?" Juushirou pursed his lips. "He did say that it wasn't something he could prove. But the proof is right here, isn't it? If we took this to Sensei..."

"No!" Hirata's eyes opened wide with alarm, and at his sudden reaction, Juushirou stared at him in surprise.

"But why? It proves, doesn't it, that Seimaru-sama was conspiring with Aitori-sensei and was involved in smuggling drugs into First District."

"Read the rest." Hirata whispered, and Juushirou frowned, obediently turning his gaze back to the page.

"_I trust that before too long the weapon of choice will be neatly in your hands_." He read slowly. "_Our people have been working hard on the formulae you've submitted me from that kind danna-sama of yours in Second District and it seems work is progressing nicely now. The boy, I suppose, will be easy to convince that the order has come from his Uncle? He's too blind to accept it from any other source, so I'll be relying on you in that respect. Take the keystone and the building crumbles. And even if none of us are a match in blades - there are other ways to kill a cat._"

He raised his gaze, consternation in their depths.

"What does that mean?"

"Seimaru and the Shihouin are conspiring to kill Genryuusai-sensei." Hirata said bleakly, and Juushirou's eyes almost fell out of his head.

"To kill...Sensei?! But...that's impossible! How..."

"It says it in the letter." Hirata buried his head in his hands. "That's why I took it. Because it's not just a case of Aitori-sensei and Seimaru-kun smuggling illegal chemicals or flooding the local town with them. Seimaru's probably only got involved in that as a smokescreen for what's really going on. Aitori-sensei's been supplying District Seven with things produced in District Two - and District Seven have been working on them. And this is the end result."

Juushirou set the paper aside, biting his lip as he considered this.

"You're saying that your Clan and the Shihouin-ke are both dabbling in illicit chemicals, aren't you?" He said quietly. "And not at street level, but on a bigger scale. That this is a secret they've shared between them, and one that they'll happily kill to protect. And now...that's how they want to kill Genryuusai-sensei? To settle this stupid grievance about District children at the Academy, they seek to remove him from the scene completely?"

"I think so." Hirata scooped up the paper, folding it once more between his fingers. "No one could touch him in a battle of blades. But the chemicals the Urahara-ke designed were meant for people of noble birth who couldn't achieve full potential. The ones who were worst hurt by its effects were those who had strong spiritual potential in the first place. I think that's what Seimaru's counting on. That Genryuusai-sensei's reiatsu surpasses everyone else's, so if he was to be poisoned with something of that nature..."

"Then there's even more reason to tell Genryuusai-sensei what we know!" Juushirou protested.

"But if we do...if we do..." Hirata's voice shook, and he clenched his fists, fighting against his panic. "Ukitake-kun, we're talking about two whole Clans. We're talking about lots of people. Not just the guilty people involved. And if...if it got out..."

"Your family would be in trouble too." Juushirou murmured, and Hirata nodded.

"The sentence for playing with those drugs is death." he said softly. "For anyone and everyone the Council deems guilty. Father's never been involved or condoned it, but then we've all known about Grandfather's dabbling and the Urahara-ke scientists he and our kin have sheltered since the experiments were banned. I'm sure the same is true in the Shihouin-ke, too. Which is why Midori-dono's come all this way and taken this great a risk. To silence Aitori before he could destroy their Clan from the inside out."

"Then what can we do?" Juushirou asked. "If someone is threatening Sensei's life..."

"We can't do anything. Not right now. Not yet." Hirata said sadly. "Not until we know why Midori-sama came here and whether by killing Aitori she's stopped any of this from happening. Whether by killing him in the way she did, she's passed a big enough message to her Clan and mine - that this stops here and now. If she has - if that's why she's come and why she's done it - then it might be all right. Sensei's life might not be in danger."

"But Aitori-sensei and Megumi-san were still killed." Juushirou flopped back against his blankets. "I don't really like it, Hirata. I don't like a situation where someone loses justice because other people are afraid."

"But you won't tell anyone?"

"At the moment, I won't." Juushirou agreed. "Because I realise what you've said is true too, and I don't want anyone to get into trouble for something they're not directly involved in. I can see that if they knew there was a plot to assassinate Genryuusai-sensei, there'd be a hysterical backlash and innocent people would be caught up in it. It might also mark the end of the Academy and the breakdown of the Gotei, too. But I don't like it, Hirata. I don't like it at all."

"I'm going to get that letter to Father, somehow." Hirata said simply. "And hope he can find some way of dealing with our side of it back home. I can't speak for the Shihouin-ke - but at least it's something."

"It's not enough." Juushirou shook his head. "What if the chemical already exists? What if it's already here, in District One? What if _Midori-sama herself_ has it? She's come from District Seven, hasn't she? We can't just leave this alone, Hirata. I won't risk it. Even if it's dangerous, if something could happen to Sensei because of it..."

"Then what do you want us to do?" Hirata was alarmed, and Juushirou pursed his lips, reaching in his pocket and pulling out the wood tablet pass that had allowed them to slip the school gates that morning.

"We need to go and do what Shunsui and I started doing this morning." He said softly. "We need to find Midori-sama."

* * *

"Why is it, Kyouraku, that whenever anything of this nature occurs, it's always you that's standing in front of my desk explaining it to me?"

Genryuusai eyed Shunsui with a mixture of resignation and annoyance, and Shunsui bit his lip, a troubled expression touching his own features.

"This time is much more a coincidence than the last." He said quietly. "And it was Hirata...Endou-kun who found Aitori-sensei's body. He came running out of there like he was on fire, and he ran into Juu and I, that's all. We felt the flare, of course, and were going to see what had happened, but..."

"And did you stop and think that maybe it wasn't safe for you to charge into what might have been a battle scene?" Genryuusai got to his feet, banging his hands down on his desk to indicate his displeasure. "Did you think that maybe, given the force of reiatsu used, you might have done better to come back here and report it to a member of staff? Even with your own talents, you are none of you at a level to interfere in matters of that nature!"

Shunsui winced, instinctively stepping back from the desk as he felt the rising anger in the man's aura.

"Please, Sensei, I think I should be the one to speak to you more than Kyouraku." At Shunsui's side, Kai, who had up to that moment remained silent spoke up, a mixture of emotions flooding his golden eyes. "Because the matter in the town...is a matter that relates to the Shihouin-ke. It doesn't concern him."

Genryuusai's eyes became flinty, and he nodded his head.

"_That_ is another matter entirely." He said coldly, and out of the corner of his eye Shunsui saw Kai quail at the intensity of the glare. "I would like to know whether you had any involvement in this morning's unfortunate incident, Shihouin Kai. And believe me, Clan or not, if I find that you were in any way involved in the murder of a teacher..."

"I was not." Kai gathered his wits, raising his gaze bravely to his Principal. "I was here in the school, and I knew nothing of it's occurrence until Kyouraku and the others returned. Though of course I felt Akekage's release, I didn't leave to investigate the scene."

"Akekage." Genryuusai repeated the word softly, and Kai faltered, realising he'd said something he should not.

"That _is_ the _zanpakutou_ your sister wields, is it not?" Genryuusai asked evenly, and Kai swallowed hard, slowly nodding his head.

"Yes, sir."

"Mm. I thought so. I thought the name was familiar to me...there are few _zanpakutou_ in current use that I haven't been called on to ratify for registration in the Council's records myself." Genryuusai brushed his long beard with his fingers. "Then this is indeed, as you say, a Clan matter for the Shihouin."

He sighed.

"But the Academy is neutral ground, even though this is District One." He added. "And Aitori was a teacher at this school, therefore he was entitled to its protection as much as anyone else associated with it. Clan matter or not, it will not do. District One does not forgive the release of _zanpakutou_ without licence or good reason. Shihouin Midori is not only not authorised to use her sword outside of District Two, she has also caused a good deal of concern in various areas by her sudden disappearance in recent weeks. If you know what your sister is planning, I suggest you tell me now and make your life and hers a lot easier. Because I will not sit back and simply accept the violent death of one of my own staff. What your sister has done is a serious thing - and here, she is answerable to Yamamoto justice."

Kai paused for a moment, then his gaze hardened.

"Until I've seen her for myself, sir, I can't answer that question." He said simply. "Even if you punish me, or send me home. Midori-neesama is my sister and my blood. I won't act in any way that might bring her to harm. Besides, I don't know myself what it is she is planning. When she disappeared, I was more worried than anyone. She has not contacted me."

"Not at all? Not even since she came here?"

"No, sir. Not once." Kai shook his head. "Nor any of my family."

"Then she acted alone." Genryuusai looked perturbed, and Shunsui cast Kai a sidelong glance, then slowly raised his hand.

"Sensei..."

"Yes? What is it, Kyouraku? Do you know something, after all?"

"It's about Aitori-sensei, sir." Shunsui bit his lip, then, "I don't think he was a very trustworthy teacher. That's all. And I think that's probably why Midori-sama killed him. Though I don't agree with what she did."

"How so?" Genryuusai's eyes became near slits. "Aitori has been on the staff here since the school began - why would you question his motives when you've known him a matter of months?"

"Because Megumi knew him, sir." Shunsui said frankly. "She said he owed her coin. And I didn't report this to you when she died, because I thought it might be inappropriate to comment on things instructors were doing outside of school. Since Megumi offered a lot of services to people hereabouts. Not just pouring sake."

Genryuusai arched a snow white eyebrow.

"Are you saying that Aitori elicited _sexual_ favours from this girl?" He asked softly, and Shunsui hesitated, then shook his head.

"No sir." He admitted. "I did, to begin with. I thought it was funny, actually, that he'd do something like that. But when she died, Kyouko said someone had owed her money and she'd got angry about it. And even though I don't know it was Aitori-sensei, I thought...maybe it was."

"You really need to speak up about things sooner, you know." Genryuusai sighed, rubbing his temples. "Shihouin, what about you? Do you have anything to add to this little dialogue?"

Kai bit his lip.

"Aitori-sensei didn't kill Megumi." He said quietly. "He was here, with me, when she died. But..."

"But?"

"I...I can't say."

"Yes, you can, my boy." Genryuusai told him darkly. "Believe me, you can and you better had. Because if there's something I need to know, I will know it. And you'd do better telling me yourself. As Kyouraku can tell you, I do not like being deceived by my students."

Kai gaped, quailing a second time, then,

"Aitori's dagger isn't in his office any more." He murmured. "It wasn't there when we helped him sort his classroom or the study itself. And though Tomoyuki's is by his desk, and I've seen him use mine at his property in town, his own is missing. I've not seen it...since some time before the girl was killed."

"And you're quite sure about that?" Genryuusai asked softly. "When I asked Aitori about the weapon used to kill the girl, he said they were all the same and so it was impossible to tell one from the other. Is that, then, untrue?"

"They all look the same to anyone not familiar with the Clan." Kai said miserably. "And it's true that we all have them from the age of about ten years, when we're at the right stage in our training. But any Shihouin could tell you straight away which weapon was given to whom. The patterning on the hilt is minutely different between blades because they're hand-crafted and carved. Tomoyuki's has one notch below the crest. Mine has two. Aitori's had a half-slash just over to the right of it. Marks that most people would see as damage done in conflict - but they're as good as identity badges so far as we're all concerned."

"I see that this is going to go several layers deeper than just what you're both telling me." Genryuusai looked pained. "Shihouin, I will speak to you alone. Kyouraku, you are dismissed. Tell Endou and Ukitake that when Endou is feeling better, I'll speak to him also - though if all he did was find the body, I don't suppose there's much he can add to this. Since it's a Shihouin killing by a Shihouin blade."

"Yes, Sensei." Shunsui hurriedly bowed his head, slipping out of the room and letting out a sigh as he shut the door behind him.  
_  
All hell is about to let loose. And Yama-jii's not the only one who'd like to know what's at the bottom of it. But first I need to find Juu and Hirata for my own peace of mind. Juu gave me a damn funny look earlier on, and I didn't like it. _

He pursed his lips ruefully.

_Even when he says foolish things, he still manages to make me feel like I'm the one who's being silly. And I don't like being at odds with him. So the sooner we smooth over whatever it was that got to him this morning, the better for everyone._

With that thought in mind, he made his way purposefully up towards the dorm, running over the morning's conversation in his mind.

_Minabe will probably be at Aitori's house right away - she seems to be Yama-jii's own personal blood-hound and if she's taken charge of the situation, no one else will mess with it until some of District One's own retainers come to take it all in hand. Oh, but I really don't like this. It reminds me far too much of Father, in the end. Aitori wasn't the nicest of guys, perhaps, and he did some dodgy things. But to kill him, and like that...I don't know. It's what I hate most about the Clans. That things like that can happen, even in this day and age._

"Yo, Kyouraku!"

As he reached the top of the stairs, he heard Enishi's voice and turned, seeing his classmate hailing him from the end of the corridor. "What's up? I got out of extra Kidou practice and found the place deserted - did I miss a party or something?"

"Not quite a party." Shunsui curled his lip. "No one's around? I know Kuchiki was going to spend the day burying himself in books in the library, but I thought Juu and Hirata came this way."

"They're not in the dorm." Enishi looked surprised, shaking his head. "Why would they be? You and Ukitake went into town, didn't you? Wasn't that what you said at breakfast?"

"Yes, but we came back." Shunsui hesitated, then, "Listen, Enishi. Everything is going to get a bit nuts around here for the next couple of weeks. Be prepared for it, all right? Because I don't think it's going to be easily calmed down."

"What's up?" Enishi frowned. "You've a funny look in your eyes - you're serious, aren't you?"

Shunsui nodded.

"Aitori's been murdered." He said softly, and Enishi's eyes almost fell out of his head.

"Murdered? But why? Like Megumi?"

"No, I don't think it was like that." Shunsui said grimly. "He was executed, to be strictly accurate. By his Clan. More specifically, by Shihouin Midori's _zanpakutou_ blade."

Enishi let out a low whistle.

"I guess the wench was all right after all." He murmured, and Shunsui nodded.

"But with someone like that around these parts, you have to wonder if anyone else is." He said darkly. "Kai's with Genryuusai-sensei at the moment. Hirata found the body - which is why I thought Juu and he would be up here, since he was white as a sheet and ready to pass out from the gore. She made a mess of him - and much as I didn't like Aitori, he didn't deserve that."

"Maybe he was feeling sick and Ukitake took him to the Healing Bay." Enishi suggested, sympathy in his dark eyes. "Poor tyke - he really doesn't like blood and death, does he?"

"Well, I don't much, either." Shunsui admitted. "Maybe you're right. Juushirou's pretty in with the Healing Bay staff, after his various trips there - so that would be something he'd think of doing."

"Then shall we go find them? If things are going mental round here, the kid might need some moral support."

Shunsui opened his mouth to respond, then paused, a frown crossing his features as he felt the faintest flickering of reiatsu dart through his senses.

"Hang on." He said softly, holding up his hand. "That was...Juu's reiatsu. I'm sure of it. But it wasn't coming from the Healing Bay. It was coming from...completely the opposite direction. Somewhere near the school gates, in fact. Don't tell me..."

"You think he's going back to the scene of the crime?" Enishi stared and Shunsui's frown deepened.

"He's concealing it. His reiatsu. Almost completely." He replied. "And I can't feel it any more, now. Just from time to time his control isn't as precise as it could be, and since our adventure in the forest, I'd know his reiatsu anywhere, no matter how faint the sense. Whatever he's doing, he doesn't want anyone to know about it. So maybe that is what he's doing. I didn't think he was that much of an idiot, but..."

"Do you suppose Hirata's with him?"

"Maybe. He does tag on wherever Juu leads." Shunsui sighed, running his fingers through his short, messy hair. "We should go after them. And we should do it before the staff shut up shop and start confining us to quarters."

He fumbled at his belt, then cursed.

"And Yama-jii took my exit pass off me when I reported to his office." He added. "If we're going to get out, we're going to have to break rules to do it. Even if the gate sentries haven't been told about the latest news, they won't let us slip the net so easily. Especially not me. We'll have to take the secret back route we took into town that day - and there might be trouble at the end of it, if we get caught."

"Trouble comes as a freebie where you're concerned." Enishi said with a rueful grin, clapping his hand on his companion's shoulder. "But listen. If we're going to do this, let's go drag Kuchiki out of the library and pick his brains too. His senses are powerful and he'll be able to help, I'm sure."

"That's not a bad idea." Shunsui admitted. "All right. Then we'll go to the library first, and see if we can pry him out of his studies. If we tell him Juu's doing something stupid but we don't know exactly what, then I'm sure he'll come. Much as he doesn't like to admit it, he's fonder of Juu than he is of anyone else."

"That's just how Ukitake is." Enishi shrugged. "And I'm right behind you. If we've only got a limited time before they lock the gates and send us to quarters, we ought to move now!"


	22. Hunting the Shadow

**Chapter Twenty One: Hunting The Shadow**

"Are you really sure we should be doing this?"

As Juushirou and Hirata crept through the suburbs of the small town, Hirata cast his companion an apprehensive look. "I know we've got passes and we're well before curfew, but it's not as if we can pretend we didn't know what had happened, and I'm sure Sensei wouldn't want us to go back here. Minabe-sensei will be at Aitori-sensei's house, most probably, and..."

"We're not going back to Aitori-sensei's house." Juushirou paused, turning to cast him a grin. "I'm not that reckless, and I don't think Midori-sama is, either. It's not that I want to do. And it's not that I want to cause any trouble, either. You said we needed to find out Midori-sama's motives, so that's what we're doing. You're Endou-ke, so even if _I'm_ beneath her notice, _you_ might not be. And it's better than doing nothing."

"She killed someone already today." Hirata whispered. "And I don't think my being an Endou will matter, if she left Seimaru's property of her own accord and then slew the man Seimaru had been working with."

"Maybe not." Juushirou admitted. "But I'm hoping that what people have said about the Shihouin is true. That they don't kill unless they deem it necessary to kill."

"Knowing about this might make it necessary." Hirata sighed, but nevertheless kept pace with his friend. "I hope that she's in a good mood."

"Maybe I shouldn't have brought you with me." Juushirou looked doubtful. "But it's just, this is your family's problem as well as it is hers. So if we can't talk to Sensei because of what might happen if we do, this is the only thing we can try. Isn't it?"

"I suppose so." Hirata acknowledged. "I'm sorry. You're doing this to help me, too, I know. And because I didn't want to go see Sensei. But..."

"Shunsui says that her reiatsu is totally concealed when she's in the form of a cat." Juushirou reflected, as they reached the market square. "And even though we felt the sword release, we won't feel that again, most likely. You said you saw the cat leaving Aitori-sensei's house, so it's for sure that it is her, right?"

"Yes. I think so. It must be." Hirata agreed. "Only one Shihouin is the Shadow Cat at any one time. And I'm pretty sure that would be Midori-dono."

He sighed.

"But we can't trace someone we can't sense, and she's a lot more experienced than us." He added morosely. "So how are we going to find her?"

"I had a thought about that." Juushirou admitted, pausing and leaning up against the wall of a building as he gazed out across the busy market square. "It's a long shot - a really really long shot. But I'm trying to think about this from a Clan's perspective as well as from my own. Because if I wanted to speak to someone about things, I'd go up to them and ask them, most probably. I might be subtle about it, but I probably would do it myself. But...if a Clanswoman did it, in a District not her own, it would be different, wouldn't it? People would talk about it. It might put her in a difficult position, which is why she's concealing herself as a cat. So people don't see her and comment on it. Right?"

"Yes." Hirata agreed. "That makes sense. I'm sure she would think that way."

"Shunsui said she brought a servant with her." Juushirou shrugged his shoulders. "A girl who she was travelling with. A girl who must have left Seventh District with her, and helped her on her way to First District whilst she was still disguised. Does that seem logical to you?"

"Of course." Hirata smiled ruefully. "Even in escape, I can't imagine a lady like Midori-dono would leave without at least _one_ trusted servant. Every Noble of any standing has at least one retainer or servant who's theirs body and soul and who they can trust to lay down their own life before betraying their master or mistress. I'm sure it's the same for Midori-dono, too."

He frowned.

"Oh...except..."

"Except?"

"Well, I didn't meet Midori-dono properly, before I was sent here. She'd only just arrived, after all." Hirata said slowly. "But I remember one thing quite clearly, because it was unusual. The Shihouin-ke didn't send any of Midori-sama's own people with her when they finalised the arrangement. And I think that was on Seimaru's insistence. He said that it would seem like our family could not provide for her, if she had to bring her own staff. So she didn't. She came alone. And staff were assigned her from the main household."

"And that's unusual?"

"Very. Almost unheard of." Hirata agreed. "I'm surprised that the Shihouin-ke allowed it. Though with Midori-dono being able to take care of herself - maybe they thought it was a show of goodwill towards their new allies."

"Then whoever she brought with her was someone she met while in Seventh District?"

"It would have had to have been." Hirata acknowledged. "Second District and Seventh are far apart, after all. It wouldn't have been easy to slip someone in afterwards. And I'm quite certain she arrived there alone."

"Then I'm even more sure my whim is right." Juushirou's eyes clouded slightly. "And I was hoping not, but this time, I'm going to be the one doing the protecting. Hirata, this morning in town Shunsui saw someone he knew from when he was a boy - an old friend of his that he parted with when they were teenagers. She wasn't Clan, and he told me that his family had stopped them being friends because of it. So she'd gone to Seventh District, and that was the last he saw of her."

"But..." Hirata's eyes widened, and Juushirou nodded.

"To get to District One from District Seven, you need to cross District Eight." He said simply. "What better person to take with you into foreign territory than someone who knows it backwards? Yes, Hirata. That's what I'm thinking. That it's not a coincidence this former friend of Shunsui's is suddenly in District One just when Midori-sama commits a grisly murder from the shadows. I think that's the girl who Shunsui's brother mentioned in his letter - the one who helped Midori-sama reach this place to begin with."

Hirata looked uneasy.

"A friend of Kyouraku-kun's?" He murmured. "That makes it difficult. But you...you might be right, Ukitake-kun. Because...the border between our land and District Eight is heavily fortified, mostly on their side. Tokutarou-dono doesn't trust Seimaru or Grandfather and it's been like that a long time. When I came here I had to get all kinds of paperwork signed beforehand just so that I could pass through to come to school – that's how strict it is. It would be difficult for anyone to slip over from one into the other. Unless..."

"Unless they were born in District Eight and could say they were returning home." Juushirou finished. "Which is what, I think, probably happened."

"So you think if we find that girl, we'll find Midori-sama?"

"Yes." Juushirou agreed. "I only got a glimpse of her, but I think I'd know her again if I saw her. And it's a starting point, at the very least."

"If she's someone who worked for my family, I might recognise her too." Hirata admitted. "Though honestly, I don't remember many of the household staff. Especially if they mostly work for Seimaru's family. Even though we're more or less all one estate, it's a big estate and each division of the family has its own wing and separate servants. So I might never have seen her anyway, if she came from Seimaru's staff."

He shivered.

"I hope we're not going to make it worse."

"Me too." Juushirou admitted. "But we can't just leave things the way that they are. Aitori-sensei's dead and if someone's putting Sensei's life in danger, we have to do something about it. Even if we're breaking rules and we wind up punished. Shunsui said it to me, when Kyouko-san came and asked us to help Megumi-san. That even if he was punished or sent away, her life might be in danger and that was worse. So if Sensei's life is in danger…and we know something about it…"

He trailed off, and Hirata nodded.

"I know." He admitted reluctantly. "I sort of envy it, too. How you and Kyouraku-kun can think like that."

"What do you mean?" Juushirou stared at him, and Hirata sighed.

"I always hide. I never have any confidence to do anything on my own, and I usually end up running away." He murmured. "I would have done it now, too, probably – even though I know you're right. I'm a coward and I'm useless – just like Shihouin-kun's said."

"But you're here with me now." Juushirou pointed out, and Hirata looked startled.

"Yes, but…that's only because you…"

"But you're here." Juushirou grinned at him. "And you could have said no."

"I couldn't." Hirata looked rueful. "I'm not good at being forceful or making big decisions – it was easier to just come along. Besides, when you went after Kyouraku-kun the last time, you got hurt. And I was worried and frightened that because I'd said nothing I'd made it worse. So this time I needed to come. It's less horrible that way, not being left behind. And it's for my family's sake too, so I ought to."

His brows knitted together.

"If Seimaru's capable of this kind of thing, I need to get stronger faster." He added. "So I can stop him before more people get hurt. That's why Father sent me to school in the first place – now I understand more than I did then."

"We both do." Juushirou said grimly. "But we're only going to talk, if we can, this time. We're not fit opponents for someone with a _zanpakutou_ – so talk is all we can do."

He paused, as a flash of purple and black caught his attention and he turned, pursing his lips as he tried to work out where it had gone.

"Ukitake-kun?" At his sudden hesitation, Hirata looked startled, and Juushirou grasped his friend by the sleeve.

"Over there, by the trees." He murmured. "I can't see her now, but I'm almost certain she was there a moment ago. There must be a pathway through there that's hidden in the undergrowth. From here it doesn't look that way, but even so…"

"Maybe it's a narrow track. One people might use to smuggle things or hide." Hirata suggested.

"Maybe." Juushirou agreed. "But neither of us are particularly wide, and I can duck my head beneath any branches if need be. Come on. Let's check it out."

* * *

"It does seem like you've got yourselves the makings of a plot of intrigue right here, doesn't it?"

The tall, well-featured woman turned from the window of her companion's study, a pensive look in her vivid green eyes as she surveyed her junior thoughtfully. "I can understand why you sent word to me. It's not quite concrete enough to grasp your fingers around, is it? But even so…"

"It bothered me." Tokutarou leant up against the book-shelf, eying the older woman with a shred of relief in his dark brown eyes.

Even though it was now some time since he had been a child under the protection and discipline of the infamous Shiba-ke matriarch, he still felt comforted by her presence. From the moment he had arrived, motherless and confused in District Five, she had swept him into the family, making him a part of it even while always reminding him that his Kyouraku roots were infinitely more important to his future than anything in his immediate surrounds. Her firm yet fair guidance had helped him, he knew, in putting back together the pieces of fragmented District Eight, and more than once since he had left her care had he realised how much he owed the Shiba-ke relatives that had so readily taken him in.

_Father had known it, and I know it, too. That you can put your faith in them, no matter what. And this is one of those times._

For many, Kyouki was formidable – an incomprehensible whirlwind who had left more than one illustrious Clan leader gaping in her wake. She had blown apart on her accession the popularly held convention of several magnates that women made weak leaders, and had ruled her Clan with a will of iron since the death of her father some fifty years before. Yet despite this she did not seem in the least bit old enough to have three children grown, and her vitality and spirit were among the things that had made her so successful in her role.

She was tall – though not as tall as Tokutarou himself – with black curls of hair wound up at the back of her head in a wispy knot. It was a compromise between a woman's hairstyle and a warrior's coiff, Tokutarou thought, with not even the faintest streak of grey marring the ebony locks, and her vivid emerald eyes were full of life. Though she wore the robes her position merited, there was a certain informality to her demeanour, and it was almost as though the white _haori _of the Gotei had been slung casually over her shoulders rather than placed there with pride.

At her waist, the understated hilt of her sword, Gekkoushin was tucked into the folds of her silk white _obi_, half hidden and apparently insignificant to anyone who happened to see it. Yet Tokutarou knew that appearances could be deceptive, and despite her laid back, relaxed appearance, if she chose to be, Kyouki could be an indomitable opponent who very rarely lost a fight. That sword had given him bruises enough even in its sealed form when he had been a young boy training – and even now he remembered every one with startling, almost nostalgic clarity.

_Uncle feared her. And with good reason. She would never have tolerated his idiocies for one moment, after all._

He frowned now, shaking his head with a sigh.

"I appreciate that you came so quickly, Kyouki-sama. It's no mean distance from Fifth to Eighth on a boy's whim – but I'm not sure how best to deal with it. Military problems along my borders or insurrection in my ranks I can handle. Holding the Kyouraku in hand is more than within my abilities. But when it comes to the subtle things, that's not my talent. And I haven't enough years experience to know best what to do."

"I can't fault your judgement so far." Kyouki grinned, crossing the chamber towards him and resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I told you, didn't I? When you first rode from our manor back towards your own. That if you needed allies, the Shiba-ke were yours by blood and obligation and we'd always be there to back you up. You've done a good job so far, making your Father's land strong and creating a reputation around you as a fair, even-handed judge and leader. But I'm glad it hasn't gone to your head. Not that I ever thought it would, Tokkun. Not knowing the disposition you have as well as I do."

"I seem to be asking a lot of favours of you of late." Tokutarou acknowledged with a rueful smile. "First Shunsui, now this, too."

"It's to be expected when you put such a young man in charge of so many things." Kyouki dismissed it with a flick of her fingers. "Besides, your younger brother is an enigma all of his own. You say he's had his own involvement in this, too? If that's so he's said nothing of it to Sora, because she's not one for keeping secrets and I've heard nothing of it in her own letters."

"Shunsui's not exactly prone to confiding either secrets or suspicions." Tokutarou ran his fingers through his long brown hair. "That's the one thing I've learnt most strongly in the four years since I took over responsibility for my brother's well-being. But this one he contacted me about, and not just that. He sent the town wench then asked about the Shihouin girl…it worries me that he's tied himself up in something sinister."

"It's not impossible." Kyouki admitted. "But I don't think panicking now is a good idea. May I see Shunsui's correspondence to you? I'd like to know precisely what he said."

"Yes. One moment, and I'll find it." Tokutarou looked relieved, rummaging amongst the papers on his desk and pulling out the right one. "Here. This is the last one – the one regarding Shihouin Midori. What do you make of it? Since then I've learned that it's almost for certain the girl did pass through District Eight on her way West. Do you think I should have stopped her?"

"Hrm." Kyouki looked thoughtful, skimming over the letter then setting it aside. "You're too young to remember this – Shunsui is too – but the Shihouin had a violent uprising and civil war within themselves about forty or fifty years ago. It was then that the current leader Kamuki-sama took hold, and he's been able to quiet most of the factions since then because he is strong – one of the strongest Shihouin to lead that messy family of cutthroats in the past few centuries."

She smiled.

"I was only just inaugurated as head of the Shiba myself at that time." She said nostalgically. "He made a good impression on the Council, and he's continued to keep control when before him leaders were changing almost on an annual basis. However…"

"However?"

"Are you old enough to remember Urahara Rikaya?" Kyouki pursed her lips, and Tokutarou frowned, shaking his head.

"I've heard the name, but…"

"Urahara Rikaya was the previous head of Third District." Kyouki said simply. "A grumpy, cantankerous old fossil if ever there was one. He and Shihouin Kamuki hated one another quite vociferously, and Rikaya had actually provided support to one of Kamuki's rivals during the conflict within District Two. There was an area of land between the two Districts which had become in dispute as a result of that conflict – whether it was Urahara land or Shihouin land was argued fiercely in Council sessions on many occasions. Eventually it became a military matter, and Kamuki sent his forces to the disputed land to defend it. Both his eldest children were deployed to fight in the battle, since they were the best Shihouin fighters at that time."

She sighed.

"In the end Kamuki-dono won his battle." She said frankly. "But lost both his elder children in the process. It was a war which, quite frankly, no one truly won. Since then the Shihouin Clan's inheritance has been the subject of gossip and debate in many quarters both in and outside of District Two."

"Both his children." Tokutarou frowned. "But surely…Kamuki-sama's heir is his son…?"

"Yes. His one surviving son." Kyouki nodded. "I believe he's now about twelve or thirteen years old. He's a bright boy – academically intelligent and capable with sticks and swords. But there are many who doubt he'll ever be able to lead the Clan. He isn't spiritually gifted, after all."

"Some might say the same about me." Tokutarou looked rueful. "Yet in the end, here I am."

"No…it's different with you." Kyouki smiled, touching his cheek affectionately. "My husband and I took very seriously the charge of having you in our family, after all. And you may pale in comparison to your poor Father when it comes to reiatsu, but you're by no means insignificant. You could do very well with that sword of yours, if you devoted more time to working with it."

"That's not my destiny." Tokutarou grinned, shaking his head even as he brushed his fingers against the hilt of his sleeping blade. "It and I, we get on fine, but I have real people to see to and it has to take second place to those. I've never been interested in the Gotei, Kyouki-sama. And even if the Shiba-ke do things one way – in this I intend to follow the traditions of my other family."

"Which means giving it over to Shunsui, if and when he puts all that potential into actual skill?" Kyouki asked lightly, and Tokutarou nodded.

"That's why I sent him to District One in the first place." He agreed. "His letters concerned me, because I wondered if he was even paying any attention to his studies at all. I don't even _want_ to know how he became acquainted with girls in the local town, to tell you the truth."

Kyouki laughed.

"He has a natural interest in the opposite sex that makes him just a touch more curious than decorum permits." She said frankly. "But I like the boy, Tokkun. I like him a lot. You're right to put faith in him, I think – probably it's what he needs, since no one else ever seems to have bothered."

She sighed, shaking her head.

"That's the trouble, when men are allowed to dominate a Clan." She added regretfully. "They really don't have the finer touches when dealing with their children."

"Far be it from me to dare comment on that." Tokutarou said wryly. "But either way, that's how this family operates and how things will be. I hope."

"Well, according to the reports I've received, your brother's topping his class at the present time." Kyouki said carelessly. "My husband's position on the board means quick access to anything like that. Of course, it was Sora's standing I was interested in – and she's improving too, so it looks like Shunsui's not having a bad influence on her."

"Perhaps the opposite is true and Sora-chan's having a good one on him." Tokutarou looked relieved. "But if it's that way, I can stop worrying. Maybe you are right. Maybe it is just a case of needing people to have belief in him to do something. And if he's starting to apply himself in school, it means I can give full credence to his other observations, too. He's no fool, even if he pretends to be. And this obviously is bothering him. So it bothers me."

"Me too." Kyouki admitted. "The Shihouin are a secretive Clan when it comes to a lot of things, and they're not our neighbours so finding out accurate information is difficult. All I really know are the things that have been made public…and one other. About the girl. Shihouin Midori."

"What about her?"

"She was born the same month as my second son, so I know she's come of age this year just as he has." Kyouki responded. "You may or may not know it, but her Uncle once approached me to ask about the possibility of her being betrothed to you – and I had the fortune to meet the child then. She was only fifteen, I think – well before the normal age for women to be officially presented – but she held herself with the bearing and wit of a young adult even then."

"To marry _me_?" Tokutarou was floored, and Kyouki nodded.

"It wasn't our decision to make, as I told Kamuki." She responded. "You were to be leader of your own Clan within a short period of time, and it would, in the end, be up to you to decide what kind of wife you wanted. But I promised that she would not be forgotten – that when you started looking, I would put her name forward to you. Only then this alliance between the Shihouin and Endou happened, and Midori was betrothed to that young idiot Seimaru. And so it never really came to anything more."

"I haven't given a thought to a wife since I've been here." Tokutarou admitted sheepishly. "With so many problems my Uncle and Father both left me to clear up, and with Shunsui's acting out, there just hasn't been time."

"With Shunsui away you should maybe start thinking of it." Kyouki advised. "But that's beside the point for now. In terms of the girl…I think it was a good thing nothing was arranged then. It's not that I dislike her in any way – but with the instability of the Kyouraku up until recently, you don't need another unstable Clan's problems to iron out."

"To think I might've arrested a girl that a few years ago I could've courted." Tokutarou grinned despite himself. "How times change."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't arrest her." Kyouki said frankly. "While I'm not sure whether acting in her favour is or isn't a good thing yet, at least you weren't pandering to that loathsome brat Seimaru and his spoiled demands."

"So long as I'm here, that's never going to happen." Tokutarou's gaze darkened. "I still haven't forgotten how sticky his Father tried to make it for me when I first took over as Lord here, supporting Uncle and making trouble along the border. I don't like that family or their way of doing anything – there's no way I'd go soft on the Endou, not in a million years."

"I think you're quite amused, then, by the fact his fiancée escaped." Kyouki observed, and Tokutarou nodded.

"It's the biggest reason for me doing nothing." He admitted. "Is that wrong?"

"Probably, but I won't tell anyone." Kyouki laughed. "Still, though, I don't think the girl should be underestimated. Girls often are in this world and it's a mistake every time it happens. Midori is a very intelligent young woman, very proud and most of all, very decisive. She's the image of a Shihouin lady in all respects. And she's far from afraid when it comes to shedding blood to support her principles."

She pursed her lips.

"Four years ago, in fact, she killed her brother's Kenjitsu instructor in an outright bout." She added casually. "A girl of sixteen against a hulk of a man considerably older – yet she didn't hesitate for one moment. She acted and he was dead before he hit the ground. _That_ is the kind of person we're talking about."

"Her brother's…?" Tokutarou's eyes widened. "I'm starting to be even more relieved that I didn't enter into marriage negotiations! What kind of woman…no, _girl,_ even, kills an instructor just like that?"

"He had been beating the boy." Kyouki said simply. "Not just when he did things wrong, but whenever his mood turned bad. Once he beat the child to within an inch of his life, and no one else did anything to prevent it. Midori took exception to this and snapped. She took her sword, faced the instructor and taught him a lesson he wouldn't have a chance to forget. That's the kind of girl she is."

Tokutarou frowned, memory of the last confrontation against his Uncle surfacing in his mind, and Kyouki nodded.

"You do understand, I think, what it means to protect a younger sibling." She murmured softly. "You would have shed blood yourself for Shunsui's sake a few years ago, would you not?"

"Yes." Tokutarou admitted. "But…even so, to challenge him in such a way…"

"She has principles, and Shihouin ruthlessness to back them up." Kyouki responded. "I don't know how happy a marriage it would have been for either of you, if she had come here, in truth. That she's acting alone like this suggests she has a particular goal in mind, and her brother is also a student with yours at the Academy, so protecting him may be the root cause of all this. But it may not. Midori and her younger brother are particularly strong in terms of reiatsu. Kamuki knows it as well as anyone. He trained Midori, after all – but has shunned Kai since the death of his own children because he's afraid of letting him progress too far. He might prove a figurehead, after all. Midori also. If rebels decided they didn't like the status quo."

Tokutarou frowned.

"Then why is he at the Academy, if his Uncle doesn't want him to be trained to a high level?" He asked softly. "That doesn't make any sense."

"No, it doesn't." Kyouki agreed. "But it's something worth thinking on nonetheless."

"I think, then, my mind is made up." Tokutarou let out a sigh, reaching to grab his cape from its hook beside the study door. "I'll go to District One myself, and speak to Genryuusai-sensei face to face. Maybe to Shunsui, too – and see what's going on. Because what you've said and what the girl Kyouko said is bothering me. And I think its something that I shouldn't stay out of. She's crossed my land, so I've a reason to go."

"Meaning I should go home and stay out of it?" Kyouki pouted. "You are mean, Tokkun. Children grow up and suddenly they think they can solve it all themselves."

"It might be better that way." Tokutarou told her honestly. "Right now there's no reason for anyone else to get involved. But if I suspect a Shihouin crossed my land without reason to do so, I have a legitimate reason to raise my concerns. Yours too, perhaps. It doesn't need the Shiba-ke being dragged in – not when we don't know what's going on."

"True. We don't know." Kyouki said pensively, her eyes becoming thoughtful as she looked at him. "But be careful, Tokkun. For Midori to act how she's acted, and considering what else you've told me about the girl who fled here on Shunsui's advice, I have a feeling this is a big one and it won't stay out of the Council's attention very long. I have a bad feeling old skeletons are about to traipse through some very new and expensive closets – if you catch my drift."

"I do." Tokutarou nodded. "Which is why I want to go there. Before Shunsui gets himself in too far over his head to climb out!"

* * *

The library was quiet that afternoon, with most students out enjoying the sunshine, and as Shunsui and Enishi made their way between the high-stacked shelves of dusty old volumes, they realised it would not be hard to locate their missing classmate. Sure enough, in a sun-lit alcove at the rear of the biggest chamber they found him, surrounded by a pile of books on Kidou theory. He appeared engrossed in his work but, as they approached he glanced up, setting the nearest tome aside with a sigh as he registered their expressions.

"I suppose there's a reason other than study that you two have come to the library today?" He said softly. "I can't imagine you'd either of you step through those doors voluntarily to revise your class-work, so it must be something else."

"Good afternoon to you too, Ryuu-kun." Despite himself a rueful smile touched Shunsui's lips. "And you're right. We're not here to study. It's a free day, after all – and we get enough of classes during the rest of the week. We actually came to find you – if you can spare us a minute."

Ryuu frowned, obediently shutting the open book as he regarded them expectantly.

"This has some correlation to Aitori, then, I presume?" He murmured, and Enishi stared at him.

"You _know_ already?"

"Of course." Ryuu said categorically. "People have been whispering about it and disturbing my reading for the past twenty minutes. Besides, I've almost been expecting it, in fact."

"_Expecting_ it?" Shunsui's brows knitted together, and Ryuu offered him a faint smile.

"You've never met Shihouin Midori, have you?" He asked softly. "I have. She's an assassin from that den of shadow killers who ascribes to the principles of her Clan wholeheartedly. She is no damsel in distress, no matter what Shihouin may say about it. Once I knew she'd left District Seven, it was obvious she would come here. To protect her little brother once again, no doubt, because he lacks the strength to protect himself."

"Then you _knew_ she was coming to kill Aitori?" Shunsui's brows knitted together. "If so, why didn't you say so earlier? I didn't like the guy, but even so…no one deserves that to happen to them! And you made Hirata see something horrible, too – for heaven's sake, Kuchiki, for someone who's smart sometimes you really don't seem to tick all the boxes!"

"Hirata?" Ryuu looked surprised, and Shunsui nodded.

"He found the body." He said frankly. "And it upset him. Quite a lot, actually."

"Interesting." Ryuu pursed his lips. "I wonder what he was doing there. He didn't leave the school with you, after all – and when I came here, he said he was going to take a walk in the grounds. I wonder why he would deceive me."

"He probably went looking for Ukitake. You know how he is." Enishi said frankly, though Shunsui's eyes narrowed slightly as he considered this fact. "In any case, that's not the point. Kyouraku's right, Kuchiki. If you knew Aitori was going to be murdered…"

"I didn't know that." Ryuu shook his head. "I realised when it happened what it was I was sensing, that is all. I know Shihouin Midori's blade, you see. And I recognised Aitori's reaitsu flaring as he died."

He spread his hands. "I expected her to come here, that is all. Aitori must have crossed Kai in some manner, I think – because I have only ever heard of Midori shedding blood with the full force of her sword once before."

"To defend her brother?" Enishi looked startled, and Ryuu nodded.

"As you say." He agreed lightly. "So? What is it you wish from me? Obviously Aitori is beyond help, and Sensei wouldn't thank us for trying to interfere in what is already quite a messy case of Shihouin vs Shihouin. It has no connection to any of us."

"That's not strictly true." Shunsui sighed, rubbing his temples. "Listen, Kuchiki. Juu was with me when Hirata came haring out of Aitori's house screaming murder. And he was with me till we got back to school. But then we split up – I went with Shihouin to report what we'd found to Yama-jii and Juu took Hirata to the dorm because he was pale. Except they're not there now, and I'm sure I felt Juushirou's reiatsu heading towards the school gates. I think they went back into the town – and maybe back to the scene of the crime."

"Why would Ukitake do something so foolish as that?" Despite himself, anxiety flickered in Ryuu's slate grey eyes and Shunsui shrugged.

"He seemed to be upset by Aitori's death." He owned. "He wasn't too pleased with me either, I don't think – one way or another. In any case, he's not where I expected him to be and Houjou hasn't seen him either. We don't know where that Shadow Cat is hiding, but I can't imagine she'd care a whole lot about a District boy and an Endou, especially if she's just left District Seven of her own accord. I'm worried about them – both of them. I think we should go and drag them back."

"And you need my help for this?"

"Your senses are sharper than mine." Enishi said honestly. "I can't pick up anything at all, but if you and Kyouraku are both there, we might be able to track them down. Kyouraku said that Ukitake doesn't always suppress his reiatsu completely – it flares a little from time to time. If both of you really focused, maybe you could work out where he'd gone."

Ryuu's eyes became clouded and he nodded, slowly getting to his feet as he piled his books up against the wall.

"I see your reasoning. It has logic." He murmured, letting out a sigh. "And you are correct, Kyouraku. Ukitake is fool enough to face that woman and ask her directly what her motivation is. He does not know the lengths to which the Shihouin will go to protect their own…and it may put the both of them in danger."

"You'd think that seeing a teacher murdered would've given him a few clues." Shunsui said darkly. "But that's the trouble, in the end. Juu's straight-forward and honest and he doesn't like deceit. He wants everything to be clear and laid out and he wants to believe the best in people. It's a strength but it's also a weakness. And right now, dammit, it's a full blown liability."

"We don't have any gate passes, and Sensei will probably order a lock-down once he knows more about what happened to Aitori." Enishi added. "We'll have to sneak out, Kuchiki, and hope for the best. If we find them, with any luck they'll still have their passes and getting back might not be such a problem – but we don't know how long it might take, or what might happen in the meantime."

"Then we should waste no more time here." Ryuu said categorically. "If things are of that nature, we should go."


	23. A Test Of Faith

**Chapter Twenty Two: A Test Of Faith**

The forest pathway was thickly lined with vines and shrubs interspersed in gaps between the trunks, and as they drew further and further from the centre of town Juushirou found he had to watch his step, as the ground beneath their feet was a mass of ferns, branches and the occasional snake slithering across their path. At one point Hirata caught his toe on a protruding length of tree root, almost falling headlong, and it had been all Juushirou could do to catch him, steadying his friend and helping him upright.

"You're not heavy, thank goodness." He murmured, as the boy shot him a grateful look. "Come on. I'm sure she went this way. I can pick up the flicker of her reiatsu, I think - she's not far ahead."

Hirata didn't reply, but he nodded his head, and Juushirou saw the resolution in his pale eyes.

_Though who knows what exactly we're going into._

Juushirou frowned, forcing away the sudden sense of uneasiness that curled into the pit of his stomach.

_  
Shihouin Midori killed Aitori-sensei and she made a mess of him, by all accounts. Am I really doing the right thing, bringing Hirata here like this? I don't want to put him in danger, but...there's no way that I can just do nothing about it, either. Not knowing that there's a plot against Sensei's life. No, this is the only thing we can do. We need to find out what Midori-sama's aims are, before someone else gets killed._

At that moment he caught a flash of black fabric up ahead, and his heart leapt as he grabbed Hirata by the arm. They sped up their pace, moving more easily through the undergrowth now as the trees began to spread across the landscape, clearer patches of grass opening up beneath their overhanging boughs as they entered the forest proper.

_So is she hiding outside of the town, then? In the form of a cat, does she not even need shelter? In which case Shunsui's idea about checking ryokan would have been futile - not if she's been out here all the time. _

"That's far enough."

Almost as soon as these thoughts had crossed his mind, a voice cut across his senses and he stopped dead, taking in with consternation the object of their pursuit standing not more than two feet away. She had led them into the remote greenery, he realised with a jolt, but she had not been oblivious to their tracking, and fleetingly he wondered once more whether he had taken an unnecessary risk.

As he did so, he caught sight of the girl's features for the first time, taking in the thick black hair bound back from her face in two tails, and the clouded dark eyes that glittered with consternation and annoyance as she met his gaze. She was no taller than Mitsuki, and just as slender in her build, but she had determination rippling through her aura, and Juushirou realised in that moment that though she was as low-born as he was and had fallen on hard times, her own spiritual potential was by no means meagre.

There was no freedom in her eyes, and for some reason, Juushirou found this sad as he remembered Shunsui's heart-felt admissions. Yet even so, deep down Juushirou knew that this was his friend's old playmate. That this was indeed the girl they had seen in town, who had caused Shunsui such distress and who had now become involved in something which might yet prove all the more sinister and deadly.

He met her gaze soberly.

_Was it because you got mixed up with his Clan that you lost that freedom after all? Or is it because of the Clan you're now involved with that you can close your heart and hide your true feelings?_

As they stood there, facing one another, Juushirou caught sight of something glittering between her fingers and he frowned, realising that their target was armed and had been so all along. There was a fixed resolution in her dark eyes, though even as she confronted them her arm shook slightly, and Juushirou wondered whether or not she was accustomed to holding a weapon at all. Still, she stood her ground, taking a step or two towards them as she glanced at them each in turn.

"Why are you following me?" She asked softly. "If you think I'm one of the town's harlots, I'll tell you now that I'm not."

Juushirou hesitated for a moment, aware that the moment the blade had appeared, Hirata had ducked behind him, cowering in his friend's shadow as he peered nervously around at their opponent. She truly wasn't much older than they were, Juushirou realised - and her attire was no more distinctive than anyone else's in the local area. Yet the weapon she clasped between her fingers was familiar, and with a jolt he realised where he had seen it before.

There had been one like it hanging in Aitori's office, whenever he had had the misfortune to be called there.

His brows knitted together at this realisation.

_Then there's no longer any room for doubt. You are connected to the Shihouin-ke after all. I hope that isn't going to make it difficult._

Out loud he said,

"Are you Etsuo Saku-san, by any chance?"

At the sound of her name the girl faltered, staring at him in alarm and consternation, and Juushirou nodded.

"I thought so." He murmured. "I thought it must be you we were looking for."

"Why do you know my name?" Saku hesitated, blade still clutched between her fingers as she struggled to work out what was going on. "I've never seen you before – in this life or any other. Why would you call me by that name, when I've never been to District One before?"

"Because I'm a friend of Shunsui's." Juushirou told her softly. "Kyouraku Shunsui. And he's told me about you. That's why."

At the sound of her old friend's name, Saku blanched, the blade slipping forgotten from her fingers as she stared at him in stricken bewilderment.

"Shun…sui?" She whispered, and Juushirou nodded.

"He and I are students together at the Academy just over the rise." He agreed.

Saku's expression went through a multitude of emotions at this, then she sighed, the tension seeming to seep from her body.

"And I was so worried, in District Eight, that I might cross Kyouraku-ke." She murmured. "When in fact it was here…_he_ was here…all the time."

She glanced at Juushirou sharply.

"He…is he with you? Is he…?"

"No. He's back at the school and he has no idea we've come looking for you at all." Juushirou shook his head. "Though he does know you're here, Etsuo-san. He saw you, this morning, when we were in the town. And that's part of the reason I'm here now."

"This morning?" Saku swallowed hard, then, "You're here…because of him?"

"No, not exactly." Juushirou said evenly. "But you were in town, and it seemed too much of a coincidence when Shunsui said that the last time you'd met you'd been heading to District Seven. So we came to find you because we wanted to speak to the person you travelled here with. Shihouin Midori-sama."

Saku's eyes narrowed and she eyed Juushirou warily.

"Shihouin Midori-sama?" She repeated softly, and Juushirou nodded his head.

"Yes."

"And you think, because I was in District Seven, and now I'm here, that I have some connection to a Noble lady from District Two?" Saku's lips thinned. "I'm not a privileged child of connection and good blood, you know. Whoever you are, you're robed in the attire of an Academy _bocchan _and if Shunsui's been sent there, it just proves beyond all doubt what kind of a place this school really is. A place where people who don't understand gather. I am not Clan. I am not a part of that world."

"Nor am I." Juushirou smiled at her, taking her off guard with his sudden warmth. "Which is why I hoped you might listen to me, Etsuo-san. I'm District, just like you. My family live under the control of the Clans, just as yours do. My people aren't badly off, true, but they aren't rich and there are seven children besides me who need support and raising. So I came here to learn how to protect them. Because my family are important to me, after all. But I'm no more like Shunsui than you are, in the end."

He bowed his head slightly in her direction.

"My name is Ukitake Juushirou, from Sixth District." He said seriously. "There's nothing illustrious about my name or my kin, I assure you."

"District?" Saku's eyes showed shock for a moment, then the faintest of smiles touched her lips as she slowly shook her head.

"Shunsui hasn't changed, then, has he?" She murmured. "If he's your friend…if you call him so familiarly…he's still just as he ever was. He still doesn't care what the world thinks, so long as he can go the way he pleases. A little part of me is glad to hear it – that even now, after so much, he hasn't changed."

"He seems very fond of you. Still." Juushirou agreed. "Which is partly why we didn't tell him that we were coming this way. He didn't seem to think you'd want to see him, after all. But I do know that Shunsui's an excellent judge of character, even in the short time I've known him. And so I thought that, if you were someone he thought that highly of, you must be someone that I could speak to without fear of misunderstanding."

He smiled.

"You came to District One because you were asked to by Midori-sama, didn't you?" He added softly, and as the girl tensed, he held up his hands.

"Neither Hirata or I are here to lead people to you, or cause any trouble." He said quickly. "But even so, I think it's important. A lot of things might rest on it."

"Hirata?" Saku's eyes widened, her gaze darting to the huddled figure behind Juushirou's body as she took in his features for the first time. She let out a little gasp, her hand flying to her mouth as recognition crossed her features, and she hurriedly bowed her head, taking a step backwards as she did so.

"H…Hirata-sama?" She whispered. "And I drew a blade…but…I…"

"It's all right." Hirata emerged from his hiding place, offering her a rueful look of his own. "Nothing happened, after all."

"But you are…Endou Hirata-sama." Saku bit her lip. "And…then they've sent you to find…is that why? Is that what this is about? Because Midori-sama is no longer in District Seven…?"

Hirata frowned, then shook his head.

"If you worked at my cousin's command, you know there is no communication of that kind between his side of the family and mine. Not if it can be avoided." He said quietly, a faint edge to his tones. "I'm not here to do Seimaru's bidding, nor retrieve Midori-dono or try and force her to return to District Seven."

"We came to speak to her for the opposite reason, in fact." Juushirou admitted. "About what happened this morning, and about what it means for her Clan and Hirata's. Because Hirata's worried about his family, and Midori-sama's brother has been fretting about her absence, too."

"Some would say it was safer to stay out of Clan politics, District boy."

A fresh voice joined the conversation at that moment, its tones low and throaty, and instinctively Saku glanced up, Juushirou's gaze following hers up into the branches of a nearby tree. As he did so, he let out an exclamation, making out the curled up figure of a black cat nestled between the leafy boughs as she watched them with piercing, golden eyes. Her tail swished pensively from side to side as she observed them, and Juushirou bit his lip, realising that despite her innocent appearance, he was now face to face with the elusive Shadow Cat of the Shihouin.

"Well?" As the silence seemed to draw on, the cat raised herself to her feet, stretching her claws out against the branch. "You wanted to speak to me, didn't you? Here I am. Have you changed your mind? Or are you just so troubled at a talking cat that you've lost your wits?"

"I…I'm sorry." Juushirou gathered his composure, bowing his head towards her hurriedly. "It's not that."

"Well, it's an inconvenient appearance in one way, and a convenient one in others." Midori sighed, leaping down neatly onto Saku's shoulders and curling herself up pensively against her servant's neck with a soft purr. "Well? You've sought me out, haven't you? I have to admit, it takes some guts to deliberately seek out a daughter of a Clan like mine, even for one with Noble blood. But I've heard about you. You're the District boy who Seimaru's so worried about, aren't you? The one whose powers defy his logic. Not that his logic skills are very extensive, but even so – I've heard. You're Ukitake Juushirou. The one that believes he can compete with us Clan on an equal level."

"I…I don't think I ever…" Juushirou faltered, and Midori let out an amused laugh.

"Oh, now isn't the time to be shy." She scolded. "It's an admirable attitude, to have courage and confidence. Besides, even from this distance, I can understand why you might think that way. You might be concealing it, but you do have a considerable reiatsu. Maybe there's good reason for Seimaru's concerns, after all."

Her gaze flitted to Hirata, the golden eyes narrowing slightly as she took in his quivering appearance.

"Endou Hirata-kun, I think." She murmured, and Hirata's head jerked up, eying her in consternation.

"It's quite all right." Midori flexed and un-flexed her claws lazily, her paws toying absently against the curls of Saku's long dark hair. "I'm not inclined to hurt you. On the contrary, as it happens. I think rather to make you my ally than my foe."

"Your…ally?" Hirata gaped, and Midori nodded her head.

"Your father was the one who helped me to escape District Seven." She said softly. "He was the one who laid out for me clearly what it was the Endou-ke were planning, and more, gave me ample chance to hear it from Seimaru's own lips. He knew that both our Clans are likely to fall if this alliance is allowed to continue, and the dark plot unfold. But they're not far from succeeding, now. Seimaru is quite serious, I think, when he seeks to kill Genryuusai-sama."

She tilted her head on one side, eying Juushirou thoughtfully.

"Your place in this world rather depends on him at the moment, doesn't it?" She mused. "Well, that's fine. That might make _you _my ally also, in the long run. I suppose we'll see."

"Does being your ally involve killing people, Midori-sama?" Juushirou asked quietly, and Midori stared at him for a moment. Then she laughed.

"I see." She murmured, amusement in her low tones. "So you don't like my way of dispatching problems, then? It's written all over your face, your idealistic naivety. Aitori's death was at my hand, yes. You know that, I think, and so, probably, does Genryuusai-sama. He ratified my weapon, after all, when I first summoned it. You won't know, I suppose, that all _zanpakutou_ have to be registered with the Council? And often Genryuusai-sama is the one who does it – so I had no doubts that he'd recognise Akekage's work as a definite sign of my having been here."

"Was Aitori really that bad a man, then, that you killed him for it?" Juushirou asked softly, and Midori twitched her tail pensively.

"The Shihouin are an assassin's Clan." She murmured. "But we're a Clan who kill when there's a need, not for fun. Aitori sought to sell his Clan's pride and cause its collapse. You won't understand this, because you've never had cause to see it – but I can tell that Hirata-kun knows, for it's in his eyes. If one person betrays a Clan, then the consequences for that Clan can be devastating. His was one life, but he sought to use it to destroy countless others. Lives including my Father, my brother, and others. In this case, one death to prevent many seems a small price to pay. I won't expect you to understand, District boy. But that is sometimes how it has to be."

"Midori-dono is right." Hirata murmured. "If Aitori had betrayed the Clan…it's why I kept Seimaru's letter, rather than taking it to Sensei. Because of the consequences for my family."

"These are the things Clans do that Shunsui so dislikes, aren't they?" Juushirou looked pained, and Saku flinched, even as Midori shot him a surprised look.

"Shunsui?" She murmured. "Surely not _Kyouraku_ Shunsui, the oft-mentioned heir of the Kyouraku-ke? Is one such as he in such close proximity to this place? A student of Genryuusai-sama's, also?"

"Yes." Juushirou agreed. "He is."

"Well." Midori looked thoughtful. "Considering the trouble we had entering District Eight, I can imagine the Kyouraku-ke aren't sympathetic to Seimaru, either. Perhaps I might find another ally, then, in the Kyouraku-ke heir."

"With respect, Mistress, I don't believe Shunsui-sama would involve himself in anything that involved definite bloodshed." Saku said softly. "He's well known in District Eight for disliking violent confrontations."

"Is he now?" Midori twitched her tail again. "That's interesting. I had thought the Kyouraku-ke to be a military family, and I was under the impression that the vacant Gotei position was being kept open for this Shunsui to fill when he came of age. Have I, then, been misled as to the boy's potential and ability?"

"Kyouraku-kun is top of the class." Hirata said slowly. "But Etsuo-san is right. He doesn't like bloodshed."

"He doesn't believe Clan should kill one another." Juushirou added. "And so if you wanted to ask him to do that, Midori-sama, you'll fail before you begin."

"With any luck, I don't seek to kill anyone. Not now." Midori shook her head. "Aitori's death is a message – to Genryuusai-sama to watch his back. To my Clan that I know what is in play and will not support it. To my fiancé, that I'm not to be messed with. To everyone to say that there is no destroying Shihouin Clan pride, not even with large amounts of blood-money."

Juushirou was silent for a moment, then,

"So you…don't support the idea to kill Sensei?" He asked softly, and Midori laughed.

"You have a lot of guts, to ask a Clan maiden such questions, given your status in this world." She mused. "And before I left District Two, I believe I would have pushed you aside in derision for even raising your voice to me. But things have changed. The one ally I've truly had since I was sent into Seimaru's custody was not my family nor his, but Saku alone, after all."

"Mistress?" Saku started, staring at her companion in surprise, and Midori nodded.

"My Uncle is a desperate man taking desperate courses of action to try and prevent his Clan from falling into disrepair and civil strife after his death." She said quietly, and despite himself Juushirou could hear the anger and bitterness in her words. "He lost his eldest children and seeks to place his coronet on the head of a boy who will never be able to wear it. We all know this, him most of all. For that reason he sold my life away and sent me undefended into foreign territory as a wedding trophy rather than appreciating my true purpose within the Clan. He's also barely acknowledged my brother Kai, because it's well known that Kai has all the potential a Shihouin-ke heir should possess and he fears my brother as a future threat. Our family have suffered from factions in the past and though Uncle is strong enough to suppress them and Father is loyal to him, unrest exists still beneath the surface. It is an unenviable position, and it leads those in charge to make mistakes."

She sighed, swishing her tail absently as she did so.

"Yet even though the situation is on a knife edge, he has broken a law set down by all eight Clans on one of the rare occasions that the Noble families were unanimously in accord with each other." She continued. "What's more, he has done so in such a way that now our family are tied up with the dark ambitions of the Endou-ke's leaders. There is no recourse for rescue – that path is already walked. I know it. Misashi-sama knew it. So he let me hear what I needed to know, and helped me to escape from Seimaru's clutches. I came here to silence Aitori, but also to seek Genryuusai-sama's help. Because there is only one way forward for the Shihouin-ke now. And I must take it. No matter what that means."

"One way forward." Hirata murmured, raising his gaze to the cat's, his expression sober as he took in her words. "You seek to depose your Uncle, don't you?"

"If things continue, he will be arraigned and killed for his actions. His death is assured, should it ever come to light that his desperation drove him to make blood pacts with the Endou-ke." Midori nodded. "And I don't think that it can be fully suppressed, now. No matter how much I seek to conceal it, I believe the information is already too far out of my control. Uncle is foolish, but I don't want to see him disgraced and put to death before the Council. My cousin will grow to be a strong fighter but he has little spiritual skill."

She eyed Juushirou critically, and despite himself, the boy tensed at the sudden attention, his cheeks reddening in discomfort.

"Yes. Even this District boy alone has ten times the potential of the Shihouin-ke heir." She said sadly. "So it's well known that that child'll never raise a _zanpakutou_'s spirit or wear District Two's Gotei _haori_."

She sighed again.

"My Father and my elder brother have been involved with my Uncle's plans from the start, and I fear for their lives too." She murmured. "I am not just an assassin, you see, District boy. I have family and I love them very much, despite their mistakes. So even though all I might be able to do in the end is damage limitation, I decided on this course of action. As the Shadow Cat of the Shihouin, I intend to take control of the Clan."

"But isn't it…dangerous?" Hirata asked hesitantly. "I mean…for a woman…"

He faltered, reddening at the sharp look the black cat suddenly sent his way, and for a moment Juushirou wondered if he might have to grab his companion and run while their opponent was still in her feline form. Then Midori relaxed, slowly shaking her head.

"As an Endou you can't understand the importance of women in the Shihouin-ke hierarchy." She reflected, a faint note of condescension in her tones as she gazed down at him. "As it happens, though there is a past precedent for a Shadow Cat to take control even if she is not the obvious heir. I mean to invoke that precedent and stake my claim. Besides, with my kin so tied up in illicit dealings, I probably am the only option left.

Seimaru said it himself – that with my kin disposed of, he could marry me and claim my family's territory through me. But I have no intention of marrying that foolish boy, now or ever. And since I'm the only one who can save the Shihouin from destruction – I came here to do that. I don't know, in the end, if it will be enough to prevent those I love being arraigned and executed. But at least if I act, there's a chance I might be able to plead clemency. And even if it means my Father is put under house arrest, or my Uncle's spirit power contained…at least it wouldn't mean them being killed and the Shihouin being taken over, their land governed by other Council officials."

"Then that's why you haven't communicated with your family." Juushirou murmured. "Even Shihouin-kun, who's been so worried about you all this time."

"Kai…" Midori's eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head slightly as if considering this point. "He's probably had the heaviest burden to bear. But I love my little brother a good deal, you see. He is a weakness of mine – a great weakness in many ways. And I don't want him to come to harm if I can help it. So by removing Aitori, I've removed the risk of Kai being involved in this dark plot. And by not telling him my plans, if it backfires on me, he's also not pulled into the aftermath. Because I don't think my Uncle's position can be saved, now. And mine may yet be precarious if I can't obtain enough support to be acknowledged by my own Clan and the others. So that being the case…the future of the Shihouin may yet fall on his head."

Juushirou stared at the black cat for a moment, taking this all in carefully, and at length he sighed.

"As I thought, being Clan isn't so much a benefit as a burden." He murmured softly. "I don't like what you did to Aitori-sensei, Midori-sama. I'm naïve, maybe, and those things still upset me. But I do…begin to understand why you did it. And…and now I know you're not here to kill Genryuusai-sensei…"

He faltered, and Midori eyed him quizzically.

"What do you intend to do?" She asked softly. "You know, after all, the identity of my travel companion. You know her by name, even. And I'm too fond of her to discard her – as I said, I've come to rely on her a good deal since I decided to leave District Seven. Can I rely on you too, Ukitake Juushirou-kun from Sixth District? What about you, cousin of Seimaru? Will you help me, or will you try to bring me to justice for the murder of your teacher?"

"If my Father helped you, that means he believes in you." Hirata murmured. "And if he made that decision, I won't stand against him, Midori-dono. The Shihouin and the Endou are meant to be allies, and I already told Shihouin-kun that I wanted to help to find you, if I could, because he was worried for your safety. I'm too tied into this to stand aside – so I suppose that makes me your ally. So long as you don't intend to kill anyone else…and most of all so long as you don't intend to kill Ukitake-kun."

"Kill the District boy?" Midori looked startled, and Juushirou frowned, casting Hirata a pensive glance.

"Hirata-kun, I'm the last thing you should be worrying about!"

"I don't think so." Hirata shook his head. "Because I understand, you see, what Midori-dono said. About Etsuo-san being the one person she could rely on, even though Etsuo-san wasn't born Clan. It's the same for me. Since I came here, _you're _the one who's always stood up for me, no matter what the situation. Even if you've had a hard time from people, you've still always made sure I'm all right. And I don't want any part of an alliance that means to stop you from doing the things you want to do. You should be at the Academy, after all. More than I should, probably. So as long as Midori-dono doesn't want to hurt you or stop you from studying with us, I…I'll be her ally. Because Father would want that, I think. And I support my Father's decisions."

"Well, you're less of a mouse than Seimaru believes you to be, which is heart-warming." Midori sounded amused. "You needn't worry, though, Hirata-kun. I'm more intrigued than irritated by this District phenomenon you've adopted as your own. Saku is mine by blood bond now – and I know I can trust her with my life. If you say you can do the same with Ukitake Juushirou, then I'll respect that fact. The last couple of weeks has taught me, after all, that there's something to be said for District loyalty. It's given without agendas or ulterior motives, unlike the agreements of Clans. And in the months to come, it's that loyalty I'm going to be looking to secure."

"Then the people of District Two are the ones who need to accept you." Juushirou said quietly. "They're the ones who need to recognise you as leader of the Shihouin-ke. Because most Clans don't pay a lot of attention to what happens in their regions. My family are lucky, in that my Father was able to manage our affairs enough to keep us well provided, but since I've been here in District One I've seen people who have been forgotten – and one of them was murdered, even though no one's trying to bring anyone to justice for it. I don't think that's the right way to be Leader of a Clan, when people's birth level comes before protecting their lives."

"You really are a strange one." Midori reflected, and Juushirou flushed red as he realised his temerity.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "I…It's not my place to tell you things like that, I know. And I don't intend on interfering in your plans – so long as you don't intend to kill anyone else, like Hirata said, I won't try and get in your way. I just…sometimes things seem so unfair. That's all."

"Things often are." Midori agreed. "But so long as there are souls in Soul Society, that will probably always be the case."

She flexed her claws, offering him a feline smile.

"But I will keep it in mind, your advice." She murmured. "Providing I live to return to District Two, I'll remember it well."

She leapt down from Saku's shoulders, turning to cast her servant a glance.

"I want you to go back to the school with them, Saku." She said softly. "And I want you to demand an audience with Genryuusai-sama on my behalf. Tell him I wish to speak to him and will come to him if he will receive me in private. I do not wish a confrontation with him and will leave my _zanpakutou _behind – on the understanding he will not bring his, either. Tell him this, and that I come with the interests of the Shihouin-ke foremost in my mind. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku nodded her head, though Juushirou saw consternation in her dark eyes. "I'll do as you say."

"See that she gets there safely, please, Hirata-kun." Midori offered the younger boy a smile. "I hear this area can be dangerous for girls travelling on their own, and I still have a lot to do in training Saku to properly bear a weapon."

She raised her gaze to Juushirou.

"For the time being, I would rather you didn't mention to anyone that I had spoken to you. Either of you." She said softly. "I doubt it would be to your benefit, after all, if that was known. If anyone asks about your escorting Saku, you can tell them you met her in the town and she asked you to bring her back to the school to convey her message as she had lost her way. Do you understand?"

"Now it seems _I'm _the one keeping a secret." Juushirou bit his lip, and Midori nodded.

"For the time being, yes. From my brother especially. I don't want him to come seeking me until I know where I stand with Genryuusai-sama." She said pragmatically.

"What about Shunsui-sama, Mistress?" Saku's tones were full of hesitation, and Midori sent her a long, hard look.

"Is he important?" She asked lightly. "If he dislikes violence, he is unlikely to become my ally, is he? After I've slain his instructor in such a violent way."

"I think Shunsui would support what you wanted to do, though, even if he didn't support your way of doing it." Juushirou said slowly. "I think he'd appreciate that you wanted to protect the people you loved, and prevent them from making a huge mistake."

"Kyouraku-kun's more concerned with the fact Megumi-san was murdered and no one's done anything to solve it." Hirata said sadly, and Midori snorted.

"The wench from the local town?" She asked. "Of course not. What Clan would muddy their paws on a case like that when it obviously came with orders high up? No, there'll be no justice for that girl. No matter how hard he tries, he will never succeed in making the right people care about a town wench's murder."

She hesitated, then raised her gaze once more to Juushirou.

"But that won't do by you either, I can tell." She said with a sigh. "And to be truthful, the case vexes me also. The blame laid clumsily at the door of our Clan – when the murder was nothing to do with us whatsoever. I cannot promise that even if I succeed, there will be justice for that girl. It's not in my power, because it wasn't committed by a member of my Clan. But I don't intend on letting her killer escape unscathed. Even though I have little interest in avenging a town girl's death, I have my own reasons for wanting to inflict suffering on the one who ordered it. And so in that respect, perhaps, our aims overlap. Still, for now, I don't know that boy's mind. And it can wait, I think, until after I have tried to speak to Genryuusai-sama."

"Then it _was_ Seimaru who killed Megumi-san." Hirata murmured, and Midori nodded.

"I heard him say so with my own ears." She agreed, and Juushirou sighed.

"Poor Megumi-san." He reflected. "She really did get involved in more than she could handle. Playing with Clan is like playing with fire, that's for sure."

"Are you playing with fire, then, District boy, in keeping my presence a secret?" Midori asked, and Juushirou nodded.

"I've been playing with it since the moment I came to the Academy. I just didn't realise it fully." He replied gravely. "But I won't disclose our conversation to anyone. Not even Shunsui, and not even Shihouin-kun. So long as you keep your promise not to kill anyone else, I'll keep mine."

"That seems fair to me." Midori nodded approvingly. "Then it's decided. Go quickly, then, before it becomes dark."

Before any of them could respond, she had leapt nimbly back up into the tree branches, disappearing back among the shadows and leaving them alone.

For a moment there was an awkward silence, then Saku sighed.

"If Midori-sama sees you as allies, so must I." She murmured. "Will you take me to this Academy? I will not disobey her instructions, even if I have no wish to go to that place."

"We will. Won't we, Ukitake-kun?" Hirata cast Juushirou a questioning look, and Juushirou hesitated, then nodded his head.

"That much we can do, at least." He agreed. "If Midori-sama wants to speak to Genryuusai-sensei and wants to do it without that death-sword of hers, then that must be all right, I think. And I didn't…even knowing that she killed Aitori-sensei, I didn't disbelieve her. Even if I don't understand all this Clan hierarchy stuff, I think she means only to discuss her situation with him in peace."

"Midori-sama is not a liar." Saku said quietly, as they began to make their way back towards the town centre. "If she says something is one way, then so it is."

"She was right, then, when she said you were bound to her by blood?" Juushirou cast Saku a glance, and Saku nodded.

"Yes." She said simply. "Does that surprise you?"

"A little bit." Juushirou admitted. "Shunsui…when he described you, he said you were a girl who had freedom in your eyes. He felt that being associated with a Clan family had helped to take some of that away. It seems a bit strange to me that if he's right, you're willingly associating with another Clan like this."

"You may be District, but I don't think you really understand what it is to be alone in the world." Saku said evenly. "Nor does Shunsui, although he thinks he does. Even though he's felt, many times, that no one was watching over him – someone always was. Even if it wasn't always with love, someone was always there. He was important, after all. But after my Father died, there really was no one else for me to rely on. Even when he was alive, after we left Kyouraku land, life was hard. I was never as free as Shunsui believed me to be, in the end. That's all."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Even if we had stayed where we were, I was going to go into service at the Kyouraku manor when I reached eighteen." She added. "That's the normal age for a young woman in Eighth District to be offered for marriage – or whatever you want to call it. I wasn't going to be offered for marriage. I was going to be bound in service. I was never really free. It just seemed that way at the time."

"So you and Shunsui both had an imaginary freedom." Juushirou looked sad. "I'm sorry that it was that way. I can see now, a little more clearly, why you made the choices you did. You met Midori-sama in District Seven and were of use to her – so you allied with her when she came here."

"I didn't have an easy time as a servant of the Endou-ke." Saku shot Hirata an apologetic look. "I never served Misashi-sama's family, so I don't mean to be rude, Hirata-sama. But…"

"You don't need to justify it." Hirata said flatly. "Seimaru is a bully and a brute and Grandfather is twice as bad. You were beaten and picked on, no doubt, for being foreign and different and for having no one who'd care if you were. You were given the worst jobs, the longest hours and treated like you were worth nothing at all. Am I right?"

"_Hirata!_" Juushirou's eyes widened, but Saku nodded.

"You…understand." She murmured, and Hirata offered her a faint smile.

"That's the way Seimaru treats anyone he disdains." He said matter-of-factly. "The long hours may not apply to me, but he and Grandfather treat my Father in much the same way. There have been threats of violence and intimidation so long as I can remember. Against me, my sister, my mother and my Father himself. I'm not surprised you wanted to leave District Seven, Etsuo-san. If I didn't have family there to worry about, I'm starting to feel like I would never go back myself."

Juushirou sighed, rubbing his temples.

"The longer this goes on, the less I understand about the Clan system." He murmured.

"Midori-sama's people are assassins and she hasn't hidden that. In fact, she's proud of it." Saku said frankly. "She killed Aitori Hideaki and she also killed his associate, Fujima, who was smuggling the drugs to the backstreets of this town and others. I don't think she regrets either of these things. But even though she can act with ruthlessness, at heart she's kind. She treats me with respect, praises me when I do well, and has never raised her hand to me in violence. She says she can tell when someone will serve her properly, and that I'm one such person she can trust. So because she's given me that trust, I can give her mine. She's strong and decisive, and I know that if it came to it, she'd be able to protect me. It might be selfish, but in the end, I only have myself to settle. So my life can be better as Midori-sama's servant than it would ever have been in District Seven or Eight. That's why. No other reason. Just logistics, in the end. Everyone needs security, after all."

"And Shunsui?" Juushirou asked quietly, seeing the flicker of pain enter Saku's eyes.

"I'd rather you didn't speak about it to him." She admitted. "Our friendship was a long time ago. We were children. And we're not any longer. Both of us know it…there's nothing more to be said between us. Nothing can change it, after all. The difference in our status."

"But I'm District, and Shunsui doesn't look at me any differently than anyone else." Juushirou objected. Saku smiled, shaking her head slowly.

"But you're his friend." She said quietly. "His classmate and his fellow – perhaps his equal in skill, too. I was…different. We were friends, yes. But it was more than that. It crossed lines it shouldn't have crossed and they can't be crossed back. And I have my pride, too. For all his ability and cheeky cleverness, in that way perhaps Shunsui's still naive, even now. He thinks that he can protect everyone, but he can't."

She shrugged.

"There were always those two years between us." She added. "Perhaps I have finally made them count."

"I think you were in love with him, too." Juushirou murmured. Saku closed her eyes briefly, then nodded her head.

"Children do foolish things that stay with them for the rest of their lives." She said at length. "This was mine, and I'll never lose that scar so long as I live."

"You…and Kyouraku-kun…were…?" Hirata's eyes widened, and Saku sighed.

"We were children. There was nothing sinister or lewd to it." She said honestly. "The furthest it ever went was one kiss – the kiss of teenagers discovering the opposite sex for the first time. But a lot of things happened because of that kiss. And they can't be undone, no matter what."

"Shunsui blames himself for it." Juushirou said frankly. "For you being sent away from Kyouraku land. He hates it – and he blames himself."

"_I _don't blame him." Saku shook her head. "I don't hate him, either. I couldn't, I don't think, not when I remember all the things we used to do together around his Uncle's estate. Climbing onto old outbuildings, fishing in the lake, fixing his torn clothing when he ripped it in a tree…things kids do, anywhere else in the world. But even if it wasn't his fault, the barrier was always there. It will always be there, Ukitake-san. Even for you, probably, I expect. Because even if Shunsui doesn't care that you're not Clan – in the end it will catch up with you. You can't change how you're born. You can only work with it and do the best you can."

Juushirou was silent for a moment, contemplating this. Then, at length, he shook his head.

"I don't agree with you." He said evenly. "Because if that was the case, there'd be no reason to strive to get better. I'm not here because I want to match up to any of the Clans – I'm here because I want to be able to protect my family from the dangers this world throws up. But even so, I'm on equal terms with Clan members. And even if they don't take me seriously yet – they will. I don't intend to be intimidated or patronised by anyone who tells me what I can and can't do. I didn't come here for that, after all."

"And that's how you can speak to Midori-sama with such censure, yet escape her anger." Saku looked rueful. "Perhaps you _are _different, after all. Or maybe you just have more courage than I do. It's hard to be sure, really, whether you're the fool or I am, right now."

"Maybe time will prove neither of us fools." Juushirou offered her a smile. "If you support a mistress who'll trust you and give you opportunities, and I gain the ability to protect those I care for in the end."

Saku's expression became startled, and then she returned the smile.

"I understand, I think, why Shunsui values you and calls you friend." She said softly. "Because that's the kind of thing_ he _might say, I think."

"Really?" Now it was Juushirou's turn to be surprised. "I've always thought Shunsui a lot more cynical than I am, to be honest."

"Without a doubt." Hirata nodded his head, and Saku spread her hands.

"Maybe." She acknowledged. "But even so, there's something else there too. A person who wants things to be peaceful and settled for everyone. And so hopes for it. But I don't think he's in the right world to find it, and it's dented those hopes little by little. He wants to protect people, but there's never been anyone who's really reached out with those feelings to truly protect him - from himself most of all."

She sighed.

"The last time I saw him, I saw real pain in his eyes." She admitted. "He's never been as strong as he seems, and I think maybe I hurt him more than any of the things he'd been through with his family. So for that reason, it's not a good idea for us to meet again. But I must go to the Academy, and convey Midori-sama's message. So...there it is."

"He already knows you're here." Juushirou said quietly. "So I suppose it depends whether he wants to see you or not."

"Hopefully he has enough sense to realise that any conversation we have will only reopen old wounds." Saku said pragmatically. "But then, knowing Shunsui, I'm not sure he has that kind of common sense. I suppose we'll see, won't we, what happens next."

"Well, we'll see sooner rather than later." Hirata murmured at that juncture, and Juushirou shot him a quizzical look, taking in the troubled expression on his young face.

"Hirata-kun?"

"Look." Hirata gestured to the path ahead of them, and as he followed his friend's line of sight, Juushirou bit his lip, muttering a curse under his breath as he realised they were no longer alone.

"Shunsui." He murmured. "He must've realised that you and I headed out again, after all - and come looking."

"Kuchiki-kun and Houjou-kun are with him." Hirata added unnecessarily. "What are we going to tell them, Ukitake-kun? Are we going to keep our word to Midori-dono and pretend we met Etsuo-san in the town? After all, she did ask it of us...but..."

Ukitake hesitated for a moment, then he sighed, nodding his head.

"After what I said this morning, it makes me a hypocrite and I can't stand that." He murmured. "But there's nothing else for it. Crossing her would be dangerous for all of us, after all. You in particular, I think, given what we've discovered about your Clan. And after everything she said - there's no choice. For the time being, Hirata, we'll have to do as she says. She asked us to make sure Etsuo-san got to the school, after all. And that's as much as we need to discuss right now."

He bit his lip.

_And I just hope that I made the right judgement. I only have Etsuo-san's word for it that Midori-sama is an honest person, and I'm only trusting in her based on the fact Shunsui was once her close friend. I hope I haven't dived into something dangerous without looking...no matter what happens now, Hirata and I are involved. And maybe I'm starting to see why it was Shunsui didn't tell me exactly why we were going looking this morning. But I can't even apologise for that, or for what I might say or do until this is resolved. I'll just have to hope, eventually, that he'll understand...and forgive me for this little thing._

"Ukitake!" Completely oblivious to any of his classmates' inner concerns or the apprehensive, tense way in which a distressed Saku and a perturbed Shunsui were now eying one another, Ryuu stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he glanced at them, hands on hips.

"What are you playing at? A teacher gets slain and you want to go visit the scene a second time? Genryuusai-sensei will likely be cross when he discovers it - and that we came out without clearance to find you!"

"I'm sorry." Juushirou looked guilty. "But it wasn't like that. Hirata and I went to run another errand, that's all. We haven't been near Aitori-sensei's house at all."

"No?" Shunsui's gaze rested on Saku a moment longer, then he sighed, rubbing his temples. "Though I think I'm going to regret asking this, what exactly _was _this errand of yours, Juu? You disappeared into the town on a whim after reading me the riot act, and now you're here...with..."

"It's not like you to jump to conclusions, Shunsui-kun." Saku spoke in low tones, though Juushirou could feel the consternation rippling through her aura. "Ukitake-san and Hirata-sama are merely my escorts to the Academy gates. I have a message to convey to your Headmaster, Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama. And I must convey it as soon as possible. The roads are apparently dangerous in these parts of late, so they are providing me with protection. That is all."

"You _know_ this girl, Kyouraku?" Enishi looked startled, and Shunsui nodded, pain once more in his eyes.

"At least, a long time ago I did." He murmured. "Though I'm not sure, any more. It's been some time, after all. And this isn't the place I expected we'd ever meet again."

"Likewise." Saku smiled humourlessly. "But fate has an odd way of casting its dice."

"Indeed." Shunsui's gaze flitted to Juushirou's, and his friend saw genuine reserve in the brown eyes.

"We'll talk about it later, however." He added. "For the time being, we need to get back to the school."

"_With_ Etsuo-san." Juushirou said quietly. "Because I gave my word, and I don't intend on breaking it. Hirata too. We're to take her to the school so that she can safely convey her message to Genryuusai-sensei."

Shunsui's eyes narrowed at this, but he shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine." He said dismissively, the nonchalance in his tones sounding more than a little forced. "If it's a promise, then I suppose it's all right. Providing, of course, that you know who the message is from...and you're not just leading bats in the dark because you think they can't see their way."

"What the hell is that meant to mean?" Enishi stared at his companion, nonplussed, but Juushirou frowned, reading his classmate's implication perfectly.

"We're almost at the school." Was all he said, however. "Hirata-kun, I think it would be best if you took Etsuo-san to meet Genryuusai-sensei. It might seem better, coming from you than from me. Given the situation."

Hirata faltered, then nodded his head.

"I understand." He agreed, though there was consternation in his eyes. "Etsuo-san, please, follow me. I have a gate pass, and I'll be able to get you through more easily than Ukitake-kun can, since you're officially an employee of my family's estate. The staff will probably have stepped up security since this morning, so it's the best way to get you in."

"_What?_" As Hirata and Saku disappeared across the grounds, Shunsui stopped dead, wheeling on Juushirou with a look of alarm. "Wait a minute. Did he just say...Saku is...what the hell _did_ you go out to do, Juushirou? That she's working for the Endou-ke...what part of them being dangerous don't you understand?"

"I trust Hirata." Juushirou said levelly. "And Etsuo-san is your childhood friend, so I thought it was all right to trust her too."

"And you wonder why sometimes I don't tell you everything." Shunsui said heavily. "I knew Saku last four years ago, and when we met two years back she was almost a stranger to me. Besides, even if we were friends then, it doesn't mean that she's someone _you_ can trust. She was beholden to my Clan when I was a child, and that's a whole different situation. And we're not children now. We're not playing games. You shouldn't be so easy to trust everyone."

"Trust is important to me." Juushirou's eyes became steely and he folded his arms across his chest as his native, stubborn temper began to rise over his normal genial manner. "And so is making my own judgements. Even if they happen to be the wrong ones, Shunsui, sometimes I have to make them for myself."

"Even though she's working for the Endou-ke?" Shunsui looked incredulous. "Hirata is one thing, but you heard how he spoke of them! Do you understand what they could do to you, if they wanted to?"

"Etsuo-san isn't working for the Endou-ke." Juushirou said lightly, and Shunsui froze, dismay entering his brown eyes.

"You know whose message she carries, after all." He murmured, and his friend sighed, running his fingers through his lank white hair.

"Yes." He said softly. "I know whose message she brings, Shunsui. And I've agreed to help her find her way. Because she's your old friend, and so I want to trust her."

"And that's all?" Shunsui's expression became unreadable. "You suddenly go into town after calling me on_ my_ honesty, and now...this? You happened to meet a girl that I was none to keen to meet face to face, and more, bring her back _to the school_ on an errand that could have any number of implications? If she's not working for the Endou-ke, there's only one other she _could _be working for. If she was an employee of Hirata's family, and yet she's here now, that means she's left her post. And that means she must have fled here. _With Shihouin Midori._ The girl who blasted the life out of our Hohou instructor just this morning."

Juushirou's eyes became flinty, and he nodded his head.

"Perhaps that's so." He said evenly. "But even if it is, I'm going to make my own judgements. You can't make them for me, Shunsui. If I'm wrong, I'll pay the price for them. _Myself_. I don't need to be protected."

"If you're stupid enough to take people at their word, you do." Shunsui groaned, and Juushirou felt a ripple of anger stir inside of him.

"No." He said flatly. "I won't have it that way. Listen to me, Shunsui. Listen well, because I don't intend repeating it. You had a District friend as a child, and you sought to protect her, but in all ways you failed. You told me so yourself. But in the end, that was because she wasn't yours to protect. And nor am I. Etsuo-san is a stranger to me, but I believe what she says. And I understand more than you ever will the way she feels. She has pride and wants to use it to choose her own life, regardless of how fond she is of you deep down inside. And so do I. That's why I came here, after all. And you need to understand it, too. That District children have their own pride, too. And we _can_ stand up for ourselves and form our own opinions, even if we don't have all the inside information."

With that he was gone across the grass, anger bubbling up inside of him as he made his way purposefully towards the dorm. Flickers of spiritual energy seared and danced across his chest, and he sighed, stifling the urge to cough as he fought to bring his temper back under his control.

_I'm angry with myself too, Shunsui, for criticising you for your deceit and then doing the same thing. But having heard Etsuo-san and Midori-sama speak, I think I believe in this. What Etsuo-san said resonated with me, too. I don't want to be a friend you only seek to protect, just like she didn't want it, either. I understand her feelings. She didn't want to be beholden to you any more. And even if she had reached out to you after her Father died, she would have always felt that way._

_  
I didn't come here for any reason except to polish my own skill and learn to protect my family. And I want to do things on those terms. It's my life, in the end, after all. And rather than have people tell me, all the time, what I do and don't understand, I want to understand things for myself. _

His eyes narrowed.

_Which means that this time, I'm helping someone I know to be a killer, and I don't know what I feel about that, yet. But I also remember the look in Shihouin-kun's eyes when he was worried, and the look in Midori-sama's gold cat-eyes when her brother was mentioned. I'm putting my faith in that emotion. In that family affection and bond. And I'm hoping that I haven't made things worse by agreeing to keep her secret a little longer. Because Shunsui's right, in the end. This isn't a game. And I don't know if he'd understand why I've chosen to do things this way. Even if it was partly for Hirata's sake, too._

He reached the dorm, pushing back the door and slipping inside, dropping down onto his bed with a heavy sigh.

_  
I suppose the test really begins from here on in, doesn't it. In whether I can stand up for myself and have my own views in this Clan-infested world I've chosen to invade._

* * *

"Do you think that Genryuusai-sama will see me, after all?"

As they hurried through the grounds of the school, Saku cast her companion an anxious glance, taking in the consternation that clouded his own pale eyes as she did so. Hirata did not answer straight away, then he sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"You really do know Kyouraku-kun." He murmured. "And if that was true, everything else you've said to Ukitake-kun and I has been true too, hasn't it?"

"Yes." Saku frowned. "But I didn't ask that. Hirata-sama, I wanted..."

"If it's that way, I think Sensei will see you." Hirata offered her a faint smile. "He doesn't like people lying to him. But if you're not going to deceive him, I think he'll listen. It won't matter if you're not Clan...he's not like that, after all."

"Oh." Saku pursed her lips. "Well, then I suppose that's a good thing. Because this place is easily as big as the Endou-ke estate. And I was rather worried...this Genryuusai-sama person is very important, isn't he? I wondered if he'd believe it, if someone like me told him that there'd been a plot to end his life."

"Are you going to tell him that?" Hirata stopped dead, eying her in consternation, and Saku nodded.

"That's part of Midori-sama's message." She agreed. "Oh, don't worry." As Hirata bit his lip anxiously, "I don't intend on naming people that there's no tangible proof against. I won't hurt your family, Hirata-sama. Your Father helped Midori-sama, and Midori-sama is my mistress. It means you and I are on the same side. Aren't we?"

"Whatever good it does us, I suppose so." Hirata let out a heavy sigh, then, "At least where I'm concerned, that path's easy. I'm tied into this, after all. So if it's that way, I'll do what I can. Even if it's only as little a thing as this. Just...please, Etsuo-san, even though I know my family have done horrible things to you - I'd like it if you'd keep your discretion as you said. Even if you hate Seimaru - even if _I_ do - for now it has to be that way."

"You have my word." Saku said solemnly. "And in return, if I may ask, Hirata-sama..."

She faltered, then,

"I would like it if you didn't pass on to your family my current whereabouts, either." She said softly. "I'm an absconded servant, after all. And I've seen servants who tried to run away from the Endou-ke manor be whipped and beaten to within an inch of their life. If I should get separated from Midori-sama for any reason..."

"It's a promise." Hirata smiled, his pale eyes lighting up faintly. "You're an old friend of Kyouraku-kun, and I'll trust you and keep my word too."

"Are _you_ a friend of Shunsui's, too?" Saku asked quizzically, and Hirata looked rueful.

"Sometimes I hate him." He admitted. "Sometimes I hate him a whole lot, to be truthful."

"Hate him?" Saku frowned, and Hirata nodded.

"Because he's close to Ukitake-kun." He admitted, a sheepish look in his blue eyes. "And I know it's childish and jealous, but Ukitake-kun is the first friend I've ever really had. At home I've always had to be the older brother, and I'm not good at that. I'm a coward, honestly. I'm spiritually strong but physically and mentally weak, and I don't know what use I can be to my family. But since I've been here, I've had Ukitake-kun to rely on. And so I suppose...it's easy for me to get jealous when other people want to spend time with him. And they do, because he's the kind of person who attracts friends without even trying. But it's Kyouraku-kun most of all that bothers me, sometimes. He seems to assume that Ukitake-kun is his, when he was Houjou-kun and my friend first of all."

Saku sent him a confused look, and Hirata laughed wryly.

"I'm still a child, aren't I?" He said self-effacingly. "But even though I feel that way, I don't _always_ hate Kyouraku-kun. Even though I envy him, sometimes - he's never been unkind to me. And he's never tried to leave me out, either. So I suppose we _are_ friends. Though it's a strange kind of friendship."

Saku was silent for a moment, then she shrugged.

"Shunsui's a strange kind of boy." She murmured. "I wish I could say I hated him, sometimes, but I've never been able to, yet. No matter how coldly I can look at him, or how much I push him away...I haven't yet mastered the feeling to go with it. For his sake and mine, I need to. But perhaps I'm still a child, too. Or at least, I'd like to be. I'd like to turn back time, and change things somehow. Even if there wasn't any way to make it better then, either."

At that moment they reached the school building, and Hirata gazed up at the brickwork, pursing his lips.

"I'll take you right to the door." He decided. "Etsuo-san, please, listen to me. I apologise now, because I...I may address you informally once we're inside. It would be strange, after all, to say you're my family's servant and then call you with honorifics."

"It's all right." Saku grinned, despite herself. "I'm already speaking to you quite familiarly, Hirata-sama. Even though I know who you are..."

"I'm just Hirata." Hirata said softly. "Ukitake-kun was the first one to really point that out to me - that I'm not my Clan, but a person called Hirata. So I don't mind. And so long as you don't either...let's go inside. If this is, after all, the only way in which I can be useful, I'll do it."

He took her by the arm, a flush rising in his cheeks at the forwardness of his gesture.

"Forgive me." He murmured again. "But I think...this way is better."

With that he gave her a gentle pull towards the steps, leading the way up to the main archway and pushing the wood-panel door back, leading the way inside.

"Hey, kid, wait a minute." As soon as they stepped into the hall, a shadow bore down on them, and Saku's heart leapt in her chest as she registered the tall senior, a frown on his fine features. "Where are you heading? And with a _town_ girl? Don't you know that all first years are supposed to have returned to their Dorms by order of the Headmaster?"

Hirata quailed for a moment, then he met Saku's gaze and steadied himself, resolution burning in his own eyes.

"Saku is a servant of my Clan, Gujihara-senpai." He said frankly, raising his gaze to the giant who loomed over them. "She's come with an urgent message for Genryuusai-sensei by way of my Lord Father. He wants a reply as soon as humanly possible, and so asked me to escort her here. I didn't know that the curfew had become so stiff - when I left campus earlier, I was able to do so without restraint."

He fumbled at his belt, holding out the wooden token that he had collected earlier that day.

"Sensei gave me leave to go." He added. "May I take Saku to his office? It's a very important message, after all."

Gujihara's eyes narrowed and he bent down, taking the token and turning it over. Then he peered at the boy thoughtfully.

"Endou-ke?" He asked quietly, and Hirata nodded.

"Yes." He said, surprising Saku by the strength in his voice. "That's right. My father is Endou Misashi-sama - and his message is of the utmost importance."

Gujihara sighed, rubbing his temples. Then he shrugged.

"I suppose if it's the Endou, there's no helping it." He said gruffly. "Fine. But be quick about it. And when you've done, go to your dorm. Yunosuke and some of the other seniors will be checking all students are where they should be - so don't hang around where you're not welcome. Or don't you know that there's been an incident already today?"

"Yes, senpai. I know." Hirata's expression became troubled. "I'll do as you say."

He glanced at Saku.

"Well? Come on. We don't have time to hang around." He said sharply, and Saku stared for a moment, then nodded, hurriedly bowing her head at his brusque order.

"Yes, sir. I'm coming." She murmured, bowing her head in Gujihara's direction as they passed, and then hurrying after her companion down the narrow corridor.

Once out of earshot, Hirata sighed.

"I thought someone would be on patrol." He murmured. "But Gujihara-senpai is half giant, I swear."

"But you dealt with him." Saku sent him a smile. "And I'm glad you warned me beforehand how you were going to handle it. Otherwise, when you barked that order at me, I wouldn't have known what I was doing."

"Well, Sensei's office is just along here." Hirata told her, as they rounded the corner and entered the passageway which led to Genryuusai's study door. "I don't know what he'll say, but even though I lied to Gujihara-senpai, it'll be different this time."

He paused, then reached up a tentative hand to knock on the door, and Saku glanced at him, taking in the tension in his slim frame.

_He's afraid. Very afraid. For his family. For his Sensei. For his friends. But even so, he's still taking this risk for Midori-sama's sake. I'll remember to tell her, when I go back. That there is honour among the Endou, after all. And that she should put her faith in him, even though he's still just a child. After all, we were all children once. And I don't remember exactly how old Hirata-sama is - but I'm sure he's younger even than Shunsui. He can't be more than sixteen at the very most - maybe not even that._

"Enter!"

A gruff voice called them in at that moment, and Hirata swallowed hard, then slid back the door, stepping into the office and bowing his head towards the man inside.

"Endou Hirata!" Genryuusai was on his feet in a moment, a frown touching his wizened features as he crossed the room towards them. "Where have you been? I've had people looking for you all over campus since this morning!"

His gaze flitted to the young woman, and Saku faltered at the sudden attention, aware that although this man was old and not imposing in height like Gujihara, he was a hundred times more intimidating.

"Explain yourself, boy." Genryuusai's tones were low. "Where have you been and why is this girl here with you?"

"Yes, Sensei." Hirata's legs were shaking, but he nodded his head, moving to close the door behind them. "The truth is that after I returned to campus this morning, I...I went out again. To speak to someone."

"You went out again?" Genryuusai stared at him. "Alone?"

Hirata hesitated, and Genryuusai sighed.

"All right." He said heavily. "We'll come to that later. When you said you went to meet someone...this girl? Your classmates seemed to think the shock of this morning's events had left you unwell...yet even though you had _just_ discovered the mutilated remains of your teacher, you still....?"

"I went to find Shihouin Midori, Sensei." Hirata's voice trembled slightly, but somehow he kept his composure, raising his pale eyes to his companion's. "And that's why Etsuo-san is with me. She's Midori-dono's messenger. She's come to speak to you on Midori-dono's behalf."

"On Midori-dono's..." Genryuusai's eyes became near slits. "Are you telling me that you had some connection with this crime, Endou?"

"No, sir." Hirata shook his head hastily, his glasses sliding down his nose at the sudden movement. "I went to speak to Aitori-sensei this morning about a...a class matter, and by coincidence found him dead in his home. I thought I saw Midori-sama leaving the property, and I...I went back to look for her. That's all."

"And _by coincidence_, you happened to find her and her servant loitering nearby?" Genryuusai sounded incredulous, and Hirata reddened, straightening his spectacles with trembling, agitated fingers.

"I...that is..." He faltered, and Saku decided she would have to take a hand. She bowed her head, dropping down on the floor before the Headmaster as she did so.

"Please forgive Hirata-sama's presumptiousness, Yamamoto-sama." She said softly. "It was the whim of my mistress to involve him, on account of the fact there had recently been a young woman murdered in the local town hereabouts. She wanted my message to reach you safely, and I am as yet a weak associate in her company with few skills with which to act in my own defence. She felt that, if Hirata-sama was with me, I would be afforded some security. After all, since her honoured Clan are allied to Hirata-sama's, she felt she could call on him a debt of loyalty and trust him to carry out her wishes correctly."

Genryuusai shot Hirata an incredulous look, then,

"So you were acting as the girl's _protector_? _You_?"

"Y...yes, sir."

"Alone?"

"...I..."

Genryuusai rubbed his temples.

"Then I'll hazard a guess, if you won't speak up for yourself." He said softly. "You might not realise it, Hirata, but we teachers do learn things about our students and their alliances through the work we do with them in and out of class. And I'm well aware of who it would be that you'd ask to accompany you if you felt things were dangerous. Ukitake Juushirou was with you, was he not?"

Hirata reddened furiously, and Genryuusai nodded.

"I thought so."

"We both had passes to leave the grounds, Sensei." Hirata put in hurriedly. "Before you gave the order for students to return to their dorms. And we...we didn't go to Aitori-sensei's house. We weren't trying to interfere in the crime scene. It's just...Shihouin-kun's been so worried about his sister, and I wanted...we wanted...to make sure she was safe."

"You wanted to ascertain that a girl who had committed a murder was safe?" Genryuusai asked frankly, and Hirata bit his lip.

"I...I'm an Endou, Sensei." He said at length, consternation in his pale blue eyes. "As Etsuo-san says, the Endou and the Shihouin are allies. Therefore if the Shihouin-ke are in trouble, it...it's my duty to do something. I'm sorry if I broke rules, but it's my fault, not Ukitake-kun's, that we were there. Because I'm an Endou, I had to go. That's all."

"Although Midori-dono ran away from your family's home?"

Genryuusai's gaze fell on Saku once more.

"Your full name, child?"

"Etsuo Saku, sir." Saku said quietly.

"You don't look nor sound like someone from Second District."

"I confess I'm not, Yamamoto-sama." Saku lowered her head once more. "I was born in Eighth District, but left there after my Father died. I was in service with the Endou-ke for a while, but I became Midori-sama's attendant and servant whilst there. I am in her trust, and because of that fact she chose to bring me with her to District One. And now I have come to convey a message to you, sir, from her direct. Because she thought if she came herself, it might suggest she wanted to cause more violence."

"Then let me hear this message, Etsuo Saku." Genryuusai said softly, and Saku nodded.

"Midori-sama wishes me to advise you that she was responsible for the death of Aitori Hideaki this morning." She said softly. "And also of the death of Fujima Yatsuhiko on the road into the local area. Both were working against the will and benefit of the Shihouin Clan to which their loyalties were tied. Therefore the act of removing them was her duty, as the Shadow Cat of the Shihouin."

"I see." Genryuusai stroked his beard. "Even though this is District One, and essentially Aitori had the protection of the school to fall back on? Such an act is not welcome in this area, you know."

"My mistress knows this well, sir." Saku raised her head a second time, a beseeching look in her dark eyes. "She has come this distance not to anger you but to speak with you on a matter of great importance. I can say no more of her wishes - she must do so herself. But I have come to ask you to grant her safe passage to come here, without fear of arrest and persecution. She will come unarmed, and has no ill intentions towards yourself. On the contrary, Yamamoto-sama - she seeks to be your ally."

"And why should I consider her request at all, when she's killed one of my teachers?" Genryuusai asked quietly.

Saku's eyes darkened.

"Because it has come to my mistress' attention that Aitori Hideaki was involved in a plot against your life, Yamamoto-sama." She said evenly. "And she feared the repercussions for her own clan and yours if such a plot was to continue. Therefore she acted decisively to remove the immediate danger. But more she cannot do...not unless you are willing to entertain her request and speak to her face to face."

Genryuusai was silent for a moment, digesting this, and then he turned to Hirata.

"And you know about this too, do you?" He asked. Slowly Hirata nodded.

"And Ukitake?"

"Yes, sir."

"And so you thought it best to bring this girl to me right away?"

"Yes, sir." Hirata flushed again, then, "I don't want anyone to try and hurt you, Sensei. And nor does Ukitake. That...that's why we went looking for Midori-sama. Because...because we...wanted to know...why she'd come here. And if she wanted to hurt more people."

Genryuusai sighed.

"It would be nice if sometimes my students would remember that they are students and that there are a lot of things in this world besides Hollows that can cause them danger." He said heavily. "Very well. I understand the message. Hirata, you may rejoin your classmates in your dorm. I may wish to speak to you and Ukitake both again, in the near future - but for now I want you to return to where you belong and stay there until you hear otherwise. Do you understand? I will deal with Etsuo Saku from hereon in."

"Y...yes sir." Hirata bobbed his head hurriedly, then backed out of the office, shutting the door behind him as he disappeared to follow the instructions.

For a moment there was silence, then Genryuusai sighed.

"I hate to think why it is students in my first year class have involved themselves in this, or why or how they've become suspicious of their Hohou sensei, weeks before he's slain by his Clan." He said slowly. "I had already perceived from speaking to Kai that your mistress had acted in her family's name, although he had no idea of her exact motives. Yet it doesn't seem as though Midori-dono seeks to conceal those for much longer...does it?"

Saku did not respond, merely watching him warily, and Genryuusai nodded.

"A lot seems to be afoot at present." He continued. "And it seems to centre around District Two and their family in several ways. That being the case, I will not refuse your mistress's request. She may come here, unarmed, and I will speak to her. But you can tell her that I will not tolerate any underhand behaviour from her. She should be wise enough to know that even with her _zanpakutou_ unsheathed, she is no match for Ryuujinjakka, and I will go to what lengths I need to protect my students and myself from harm. Take that message to her, girl. I will speak to her tomorrow, at sundown. If she is not here then, to explain precisely what she wants, then she may consider any and all negotiation or clemency from District One to be at an end."

"Yes, sir." Saku bowed her head again. "Thank you, sir. I will go directly and tell her of your kind words."

"Do so." Genryuusai's eyes narrowed. "And on the understanding no more like bodies will be found in the meantime, I will hear what she has to say."


	24. The Endou Dungeon

**Chapter Twenty Three: The Endou Dungeon  
**

So the wench had resurfaced.

Seimaru rested his hands on the sill, clenching his fingers tightly into his palms as he fought to control his rising anger and frustration. Precious time had been lost over the course of the past couple of weeks searching for his missing fiancée, and the obtuse resistance of his neighbours in District Eight had only made his annoyance greater. The news of Aitori's murder had spread like wildfire through the various Districts, and for Seimaru it had been the icing on the top of an extremely poisonous cake.

Things were in a precarious position indeed.

He turned, closing his eyes for a moment as he composed himself, resuming his normal calm, half-sneering demeanour as he crossed the chamber, sliding the door back and slipping down the hall towards the main stairwell. As he did so, several servants passed him, bent on this errand or that, and as he reached the lower landing he recognised the face of his Grandmother's preferred physician exchanging his greetings with his Grandfather's head of staff.

His lip curled in derision.

No matter how many times that man came, or how close to death people believed his Grandmother was, she still lived on. And though she was frail in body these days, she still had a razor sharp, ruthless mind. More problematic, however, was the fact that she was his Grandfather's sole weakness. The one thing in the old man's make-up that could be called his Achilles heel.

He truly loved his wife.

And that love had caused Seimaru no end of trauma over the course of the previous few years.

_Yet Grandmother keeps living by will alone, and I'm sure she's doing it just to spite me. She never liked Father, even though she birthed him herself, and has always disdained Mother - after all, it's thanks to her that Mother's been exiled from the court this long, and I'm sure if she'd been able to, Grandmother would have gladly sent me to join her. She'd happily have favoured Misashi-jisama in my place, if Grandfather hadn't reminded her of the tradition of Clan inheritance. Yet even now she will not acknowledge me. And there are enough among this Clan who remember who she was when she was younger...enough to create reasonable doubt. Father would have inherited without hesitation, but now it's more complicated. _

His eyes narrowed.

_If I'd grasped the Shihouin land like I expected, that might have turned the scale. As it is, I'm going to have to focus on the other objective of my plan. Aitori's death is messy and unwelcome, but at least it further implicates the Shadow Clan and leaves us out of it. Aitori was always fastidious about destroying every communication I sent him, after all. There should be no danger, just logistical inconvenience by his death._

He bowed his head solemnly towards his Grandmother's doctor, keeping his eyes lowered as he passed so that the man would not see the hate that flared in their depths. Then he hurried on, passing the door that led to his Uncle's section of the huge Endou manor. As he did so, he paused momentarily, gazing at it with a frown.

_What are you planning anyway, Ojisama? You send your son to the school I plan to destroy - is that a coincidence or a message to me that you think you can stop me? If it's the latter, your hope is foolish. Hirata will never be any kind of warrior for this Clan. A coward and a mouse will never gain position in the Endou, not when there are plenty of predators waiting to make him our prey._

He turned on his heel, making his way in the opposite direction until he reached another old staircase that led down into the realms of the manor that were usually inhabited by the serving staff. This part, however, had been blocked off by his Grandfather's people some many years earlier, and given over to the exiled descendants of the Urahara-ke who had sold their secrets and research to the Endou-ke in return for anonymity and protection in Seventh District. Many had changed their names, disappearing into thin air as far as official records were concerned, and Seimaru knew that many of the inhabitants of the big Endou household did not know that so many Council scapegoats and their descendants now resided in the rambling brick and dust world beneath their feet.

The Urahara-ke scientists were such that they would rather lose their comfort than their chance to practice science, and so had not asked for much in the way of accommodation. For that reason, Shouichi had ordered half of the cellars and former dungeons to be turned over for their research premises, and so work had begun. In this underworld of an existence, they had worked night and day, raising the children they had brought with them on their mad flight for safety following the Council's verdict, and these young ones had been raised with the same resolute goals in mind, twisting their young minds towards the same irrefutable path. It was not quite big enough to be considered an underground village, and they were not prisoners, for there were secret entrances and exits to this rabbit warren secreted all over the more remote parts of the Endou-ke estate grounds. Yet their dedication was unyielding. In return for their lives, they had given their souls to the Endou-ke, regardless of the ethics or discomfort involved.

The only people from outside who had ever been granted access to this dark, gloomy world were the old man himself and his immediate heir. Now that was Seimaru, and as he slipped the heavy key into the lock of the big wooden door that flanked the end of the underground hallway, he felt a flicker of self-satisfaction despite himself.  
_  
Even if you know about it, Misashi-jisama, you don't have any way of accessing it, or proving it. And even if I can't move while Grandmother is still alive, that's not a permanent state of affairs. Watch your back. When she dies, you will be the first to follow her to her grave, after all._

"Seimaru-sama!"

As the young Lord stepped through the archway into the chamber beyond, he was greeted by a man apparently in his middle thirties. He was tallish, and although he had the same pale skin that was normally associated with the Urahara, his appearance made him stand out among his fellows, for unlike their fair blondness, his hair was shaded a sandy brown and pulled back in a casual tail which spoke more of functionality than it had anything to do with attention to his appearance. There was distant Kyouraku blood in his family tree, Seimaru knew, though it was as faint as the Urahara blood in his own, and once his father had been a man of some significance, for he had been well within the four degrees of kinship that marked the elite's inner circle. For that reason, substantial reiatsu bubbled within his aura, kept neatly in check by someone who knew a good deal about spiritual potential. His eyes, though as pale as Seimaru's own were brownish in hue rather than blue, and he had once joked that they had been muddied, as though his Urahara blood had been somehow tainted by his dedication to the Endou-ke's cause.

He wore a long grey coat which billowed behind him when he walked in the cool air of the dungeon, and on more than one occasion Seimaru had had the fleeting impression of a Shinigami wearing a _haori_, so resolute was his stance. He was one of the many who had grown up in this dank, claustrophobic environment, for he had been a boy of four years old when his father - the leader in the original study - had been executed before the Council as an example to Soul Society. His mother had hidden him, bringing him through the more sympathetic Second District and they had lived since then under her maiden name, surviving until they had arrived in Seventh District and had appealed to the Clan there for help. Shouichi had listened, for they shared a common blood kinship through shared Urahara ancestry, and so the young boy had grown up here, learning nothing but the art which had caused his father's death.

Though he was still a junior in terms of his age, his unquestionable bloodline and his desire for scientific progress had made him something of a leader among his companions, and in many ways it was he who Seimaru had begun to work with all the more in recent months. He was undoubtedly clever - perhaps _too _clever, because sometimes something other than fervour for his work glinted in those strange pale brownish eyes. Though he was rarely anything but calm and even in his manner, deep within him burned a resentment towards the Council who had stripped him of his father and his home, and it had been to this end that he had combined his power with the Endou as they had searched for new potential in old, tainted work.

Though he did not know if there was any such thing as trust in this relationship, Seimaru knew that of all the Urahara who used this place, this man was the one he needed most of all. Of all of them, this one was the only one who truly understood the chemical formulae who had got the Clan into such trouble so many years before - and the only one who could possibly manipulate it into the kind of serum their goal required.

At this thought Seimaru frowned, shutting the door behind him and fastening it carefully before turning to face his companion.

"Well?" He said softly. "What news do you have for me?"

"Plenty, sir." The man raised his head from its requisite bow, triumph glittering in his pale eyes. "As you said, everything begins to come together. The research that the Shihouin-ke graciously provided us with has gone a long way towards reaching our end goal. It has not been fully tested yet, of course. But..."

"I wish I could test it on that insufferable Uncle of mine." Seimaru muttered. "But for the time being, I think it's better not. The girl has made her reappearance in District One..and Aitori has been killed. In those circumstances, we need to tread carefully."

The young man's eyes narrowed, and he nodded his head.

"Yes, sir." He murmured. "I understand."

"Show me, in any case, the fruits of your labours."

"Yes, sir." The man smiled, leading his companion across to a cluttered work surface covered in papers and diagrams which were scattered every which way over the wood. Yet, as they reached it, his companion laid his fingers on the document he wanted right away, smoothing it out and indicating for his master to look.

"The final formula seems to be more stable than anything our people created in the past." He said simply. "If they'd had more time, they would have been able to stabilise the chemical too, I think. At least to the point where it wouldn't so easily have split and destroyed the soul it was there to enhance. However..."

"However?" Seimaru's brows knitted together as he struggled to make sense of the incomprehensible squiggles and curls that decorated the document. "You weren't ordered to stabilise it. You were ordered to create something that would work effectively on a man who can't be killed."

"That's just the thing, though, sir." The young man's lips twitched into a cold, almost smug smile. "Stabilising it has meant that at last I can see all the possible outcomes of using a chemical of this nature. The strengths and the weaknesses. And from the preliminary trials...the implication is that if you remove or adjust certain of the components, you can create something which is not only dangerous but extremely toxic. More so, in fact, the stronger the individual's reiatsu. Will you follow me? I'll show you something a little more conclusive if it will help."

He set the paper down, bowing his head then leading his companion through another heavily grilled door to a narrow, stone walkway beyond. This had once been the confinement area of the Endou-ke's dungeon, till a new one had been constructed in order to hold more prisoners, and a chill wind whipped through the bleak coldness of the hallway. Although prisoners were no longer kept here, the cells were far from empty and the air was punctuated by the groans and cries of the unfortunate inhabitants who had had the misfortune to become snared in the Endou-ke's illicit experiments.

Despite himself, Seimaru was slightly chilled.

The young man paid no attention to either the screams or the pleas of his captives, however, merely leading the young Lord along the corridor quite calmly until they reached the fifth cell on the left hand side. Here he paused, reaching up to slide across the small wooden grill that separated test subject from scientist and casting his companion an expectant smile.

"This was the last experiment we carried out before finalising the formula to the level it currently is." He explained, as Seimaru hesitated. "Take a look, sir, and see for yourself what kind of effect this can have."

Seimaru pursed his lips, but he knew that, as an Endou, he could not pull back now. He nodded his head, moving to peer through the grill and as he did so, he let out a gasp of surprise and dismay.

The cell's inhabitant had once had human form, that much he could tell. Though the clothing was ragged and torn, it was still recognisable as soiled peasant work clothes, and tangled, matted hair still maintained the ribbon that held it haphazardly back in a thick tail. But even so, the creature that huddled in the corner before him could no longer be called a resident of Seireitei - in fact, Seimaru could not make out whether the victim had originally been a man or a woman, or their age. They were stooped and curled both by pain and the crippling deformity that had ripped through their body, twisting the spine almost ninety degrees as the feeble bone had splintered and mutated into a new and unsightly spine above the surface of the skin. The limbs were gangly and stretched, out of proportion with the rest of the body, and the hands were clawed and sinewy, showing every tendon and bone as they flexed helplessly against the cold cell air. Yet it was the creature's face that struck Seimaru the most strongly, for it had become half-way coated in a slick, white substance, hopeless red eyes staring emotionlessly out from behind its knobbled covering.

"Almost as though...a Hollow..." He murmured, and his companion shook his head.

"A long way from a full scale transformation." He responded. "But I'm glad you can see the potential. This individual had an unusually high _reiryoku_ for one in the lower orders, and it took four doses to bring him to this level. He protested and fought against it to begin with, but by the time the final dose was administered it seemed all rational and meaningful brain function had eroded to the state you see him now. If you startle him, he can still attack- but for the most part he sits as you see him now - drooling in the corner of his cage."

He smiled, as though the news he had just conveyed had been a happy holiday memory and not the destruction of an innocent life.

"This man's _reiryoku_ is probably a tenth of your own, Seimaru-sama." He added, sliding the grill back across to hide the grotesque view from sight. "To begin with, the drug administered a heightening effect, but as had happened in the past, it dissipated almost right away. This particular formula also had devastating mental side effects when applied more than once - the third dose seemed to both heighten his senses and destroy them at the same time. In the past, there was no such significant deformity - which makes me believe we've got to a point where the toxic levels of the drug have been identified and altered. Thanks to the contributions of the Shihouin-ke study, we could probably manufacture an effective potion without those negative effects now we know what we know - but that isn't the current objective, so I've taken it the other way instead."

He shrugged.

"If Yamamoto-sama's own power is of the level people say, I imagine one dose of this would be enough to afflict him in a pretty dramatic manner." He continued. "I wouldn't like to say that it would break down his particles to the level where he'd become a full blown Hollow - though that's something I'd like to pursue further, for the time being it would be dangerous to you and everyone else to turn a man like that into a creature without restraint. But I will modify the formula a little more, and then you should have your serum. Enough at least to destroy the mind of such a man and, most probably, take his life."

"And the risk of this being traced back to us?" Seimaru glanced at his companion, who shrugged.

"The only ones who know what we do here are you and your noble family, Seimaru-sama." He said evenly. "And only you and your Grandfather know the depths of this experiment in particular. I believe there is no danger. Even if the Shihouin girl has appeared in District One, there is nothing for her to know. Not unless you told her of the plan yourself."

"I did not." Seimaru acknowledged, feeling faintly relieved. "I would not discuss such things with a woman sent merely to be my wife."

"Then all is well and we will proceed." The man grinned. "Perhaps the Shihouin will entertain authorities in District One a while longer so I have time to perfect it exactly."

"Yes. There is that." Seimaru admitted. "The girl has made a scene, it seems, and there's no doubt that she's the one who killed Aitori - so I hear. That will occupy the Yamamoto-ke for some time."

"Then I'll continue working." His companion decided. "And I'll report to you as soon as I have a formula I think you can use."

"Do so." Seimaru nodded his head, his resolve hardening inside of him. "And I'll travel to District One myself when that time comes, to make sure for myself that the deed is carried out properly."

He returned the scientist's cold grin with one of his own.

"Keep up the good work, Aizen." He added. "Grandfather and I have high expectations of you."

* * *

The atmosphere in the dormitory was unusually strained that morning.

As the clang of the bell resounded through the old manor house, Juushirou opened his eyes, gazing up at the ceiling as he remembered the events of the previous day with sudden, startling clarity.

There had been a murder. The school had been locked down. Summer break had been all but cancelled, and students had been told that they would be remaining on campus until further notice. Despite that fact, he had met with Shihouin Midori. And now...

He groaned, pulling himself into a sitting position and running his fingers through his lank white hair as he reflected on the situation. Though several of his companions had asked him questions the night before, he had chosen to say as little as possible, and by the time Hirata had rejoined them, his own expression troubled, the group of first years had sunk into an uneasy silence that had hung heavily over the whole chamber.

Even despite the various spats that had happened since the beginning of term, Juushirou had not known the air to be quite so cloying and full of unspoken accusations, and he didn't like it. For one who had always taken the straight forward path, deceiving his companions made him feel paranoid and vulnerable, and he glanced around the room, inwardly wondering what each of his roommates was currently thinking.

Ryuu had risen, as usual, with the light of the morning sun, and had already left the chamber for the bath house. Kai too was absent, having been instructed to attend the Headmaster's office first thing in the morning, so he had dressed and departed without a word to any of his companions. In his corner, Hirata was sorting his robes for the day, studiously avoiding anyone else's gazes as he focused his attention on the matter at hand. Enishi was sitting on the end of his bed, tying the shirt of his _hakama_ around his broad torso and as he did so, he caught Juushirou's eye. He offered a faint smile, but there was a troubled look in his dark eyes too, and Juushirou sighed, burying his head in his hands as he realised he could not even meet his friend's straight-forward gaze.

"Are we going to carry on in deathly silence for the rest of this morning, too?" Shunsui hauled himself into a sitting position, his words casual and flippant but lacking the lightness of tone that usually accompanied them, and Juushirou could feel the uncertainty flickering in his aura. "Because I don't know about anyone else but it's destroying my appetite."

Hirata raised his head at this, shooting Juushirou an anxious glance, then,

"I don't want anyone to fight with anyone else." He murmured.

"Nor me." Enishi agreed frankly. "I don't know what exactly's gone on, and I don't know if I want to. But it's not like either you or Ukitake to look so out of sorts, Kyouraku. You might've exchanged words yesterday, but I didn't think you'd hang onto it like this. Neither one of you seem the type for long, drawn out grudges."

"It's not a grudge." Juushirou's head shot up at this. "I don't have a grudge against anyone, Houjou-kun. It's nothing at all like that."

"Well, you're the only one who seems to know what it_ is_ like." Shunsui said heavily. "I'm more than happy to apologise to you, Juu, but I'd like to know exactly what I'm apologising for first off the bat. And I still want to know exactly what yesterday was all in aid of. Did you know Saku before I spoke to you about her? The way you came back to the town..."

"Ukitake-kun has no connection to Etsuo-san at all." Hirata piped in before Juushirou could answer. "I'm sorry, Kyouraku-kun. This is _my_ fault. She used to be a maidservant at my family's estate, so it's me she has the connection to."

He swallowed hard, then,

"It's because of _me_ that we helped her to come to the school."

"That's not entirely true." Juushirou shot him a startled look. "_I_ was the one who suggested that we look for her, since she'd arrived in the District suddenly. After all, we were..."

He faltered, remembering at the last minute that he wasn't supposed to mention the meeting with Midori, and at his sudden hesitation, Shunsui's gaze clouded.

"You told me off about deceiving you." He said softly. "Are you repaying the favour or teaching me a lesson, Juu-kun?"

Juushirou got to his feet, a pained look in his hazel eyes.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you about that." He admitted. "That's the truth, Shunsui. I was shaken up by Aitori having been killed and I...I suppose I thought that maybe if I'd known something, I could've stopped it. But I guess I know, honestly, that I couldn't. And I...I'm sure you had a good reason not to tell me Shihouin-kun had asked you. I don't have the right to demand to know everything other people say to you...so I guess I overreacted."

"Yes, probably, but I'm not too worried about that right now." Shunsui swung his legs over the side of the bunk, toying with the ties of his night robe as he met his friend's gaze head on. "It's bothering me more that since last night you seem afraid to meet my gaze. That's not like you. Not like the Ukitake Juushirou I thought I knew, anyway. And all of that yesterday - about District children and pride - where did that come from? When did I ever say anything about you having pride or otherwise?"

Juushirou rubbed his temples, feeling a dull ache beginning at the base of his skull.

"I don't feel like dealing with this." He murmured. "I'm sorry, Shunsui. Right now...I can't say anything at all. Even if I wanted to. It's complicated."

"Complicated." Shunsui's eyes narrowed. "Because of Aitori? Because of Saku? Or because you know that my childhood playmate came to the school with Shihouin Midori's blood-soaked memo and you want to protect _me_, now? Because I'm not as innocent as all that, Juu. If Saku's running errands for Midori, that means she's wrapped up with that girl in all respects, most probably. And that means she was likely party to the murder of our teacher, too. Even if she_ is_ an old friend of mine - I'm not deceiving myself in that regard. We parted a long time ago, after all. And she said it to me herself the last time we spoke - that she wasn't the girl I'd grown up with any more."

"Are you all right, Ukitake?" Enishi looked concerned. "Your face isn't a good colour, and you've shadows under your eyes. Didn't you sleep last night, after all?"

"Some. Not a lot." Juushirou offered Enishi a rueful smile. "I'm sorry, Houjou-kun. You've got caught up in this, too. And I really...I don't know what to say to you, Shunsui. All I know is that...I've made up my mind. And...right now...that's all I can do. About anything."

He got to his feet, reaching for his towel.

"I'm going to go take a bath and try and wash this out of me." He added. "For now, Shunsui, please - don't ask me any more questions. I don't know how to answer them, after all."

"Wait a minute."

He made to leave, but Shunsui was too quick, grasping him loosely around the wrist and pulling him round to face him.

"Hey!" Juushirou tried to pull free, but as Shunsui's grip tightened, he felt the fight draining out of him.

"I'm not good at saying things like this, so you'll probably get even more angry with me when I do." He said quietly. "But if you don't want to feel like I - or anyone else - is protecting you, you need to think much harder about the decisions you make. I don't know exactly what you went out there to do, yesterday. You or Hirata - or why. I don't know why Saku suddenly trusted you to protect her but I know there's more to it than a chance meeting or her being a former employee of the Endou-ke. And this decision of yours - whatever it is - is it something you're willing to live or die by? Because even if I don't believe in killing to protect my Clan, it doesn't mean others aren't of a different mind."

"I'm not a small child, you know." Finally Juushirou wrenched his hand free, rubbing his wrist absently as he met Shunsui's gaze fully for the first time that morning. "But you've said it to me yourself. That what I'm doing is something no one else has ever done. Well, the last time you threw that at me and told me to stay behind, you almost got killed, Megumi got murdered and we both ended up in a sticky situation. If you'd taken me with you then, maybe it would've been different. And I won't pretend that I understand everything about this world yet - but the only way I will is by making decisions and mistakes for myself. In this case, my mind is made up. And it's not just about me. I'm sticking by Hirata, too. Because he's in a messy enough position with his family the way they are and I don't want him to feel like he's been abandoned."

Shunsui sighed, closing his eyes briefly, then,

"Go have your bath." He said frankly. "If you won't listen, I won't try and talk to you about it any more. But I want you to know one thing, Juu. You said yesterday that Saku wasn't mine to protect, and that's why I failed to protect her. But you're wrong. She was mine to protect the moment she became involved with my family. That's what Clans do - or_ should_ do - as per Council law. The Clans protect those who live in their lands. Saku was a Kyouraku dependant and it was my _duty_ to look out for her just as much as it was my Uncle's or my Father's to do the same. That's the bit you don't get - that the Clans are _here_ to protect District people. If they do their job properly, that is."

He opened his eyes, and Juushirou could see the raw emotion in their depths.

"You've grown up knowing that but without ever realising it." He murmured. "But who came to your land to destroy the Hollow when it killed your Father, Juu? Who was it your family sent for - I bet it was Ryuu-kun's Kuchiki-ke, wasn't it? That's how the system works. Like it or otherwise."

"Yes. The Kuchiki came and dispatched the Hollow." Juushirou's voice shook slightly at the memory. "So I believe, anyway. My own memory's a little hazy. But that's also why I came here, Shunsui. To be able to protect my family myself. Not to have to call on Nobles who are too busy and too late to save those I love. Whether it's a Noble duty or not, that doesn't mean it extends to you and I. If that's why you've been friends with me, you need to walk away from it now. Because aside from the fact I'm not from District Eight, I'm not going to stand for it. I don't want to be protected by anyone. I've been that my whole life - it's my turn now to protect others in return."

Shunsui frowned.

"Do you really think that? That I'm friends with you because of Noble duty?" He demanded, an edge to his tones, and Juushirou shook his head impatiently.

"That's not what I meant." He said, frustration clear in his tones. "Just that if you really see me as your equal and you think I belong here or deserve to be here, you need to think about it more clearly. That's all."

Shunsui's brows knitted together at this.

"But what I'm trying to protect you from is your own stupidity." He said wearily. "You have every bit as much _reiryoku _as I do, and as much wit and skill to have pipped me in those tests. We both know it. What you don't have is a strong enough survival instinct. And even if you hate that fact, it doesn't make it any less true. This isn't a world you can easily negotiate in without footholds or roots of your own. And if I do protect you - if you want to use that word - it's not because I think you're weak. It's because you're going to be strong, one day, when you finally graduate here. You're going to be one of the best Shinigami that Soul Society's ever seen, without a doubt, because you care about what people do and you have the power to stand up for those people. _If_, that is, you damn well live to get to that point."

With that he turned his back, leaving the dorm and sliding the door shut behind him, and Juushirou faltered, his father's voice suddenly echoing unbidden across his senses.

_"It's not because you're weak that I've protected you. It's in the hope that you'll be strong, instead."_

"Otousama." He murmured, biting his lip, and Enishi shot him a puzzled look.

"Ukitake? Are you all right?"

"Huh?" Juushirou swung around, meeting his friend's gaze then sighing, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "Just...something Shunsui said...it reminded me of something. That's all. Something Father said...a long time ago."

"This is my fault, after all." Hirata looked distressed. "Because I had a secret and then you had to keep another secret and now..."

"And we can't talk about this. Not even to Houjou-kun." Juushirou said heavily. "Or to Shunsui, not right now. At least, not until tonight is past and over. Whether we like it or not, that's how it is. In the meantime, we have to get up and carry on with things as best we can. There's nothing else either of us can do for now."

* * *

_Dammit._

As Shunsui walked through the halls of the school building, he clenched and unclenched his fists, not understanding the mixture of anger and frustration that swirled uncharacteristically within him. It wasn't like him, he knew, to care so strongly about one little thing. He had never really fought with anyone through his whole life - and even the arguments he had had with his Uncle had barely scratched the surface of his inner feelings.

Yet he did not like being at odds with Juushirou one bit.

It wasn't just that he was hurt by his companion's apparent overreaction. It was more than that, he knew. It was much deeper inside of him, sparked by the emotions seeing Saku had begun to awaken in the core of his heart. Yet at that moment it was Juushirou more than Saku that worried and annoyed him most of all.

Saku had been his friend, yes, and he had loved her more than any woman he had ever met since. That emotion was still rife within him, and he had seen enough in her eyes to realise that it was the same for her. But that friendship had been forbidden and they both knew that there was no going back. They both understood, in the end, the limitations of childhood innocence - that once lost it was lost forever and could not be retrieved.

Yet Juushirou was different. Juushirou was his own age, smart and by no means ignorant of pain or suffering in his short life. On the contrary, between the loss of his father and the burden of his health, Shunsui greatly suspected his friend was adult beyond his years in many respects, and had long since discarded any childish mentality in the hope of mentoring his now fatherless brothers and sisters to the best of his ability.

But despite this, he still looked straight ahead. He still looked for the good in people, even when he knew there was bad.

_And while it's totally in keeping with him to do it, dammit, I don't want to see him get killed._

He dropped back against the wall, aware for the first time that he was still wearing his night robes and had left the dorm without his towel or his slippers. A rueful expression touched his features.

_I'm all over the place, too. But it worries me. That he won't tell me what happened yesterday. Why he and Hirata suddenly took off like they did. Why he's on edge and snappy about something. Why they were escorting Saku. It makes me suspect that they've spoken to Shihouin's enigmatic sister...which worries me even more. Even if she's in no mood to kill again just yet, to fall into an alliance with a Clan you know little or nothing about based on...what? Loyalty to Hirata? I don't know how to counter that. It's bringing out a side of me I don't like very much, and I don't know how to deal with it._

He rubbed his temples.

_I said a lot of silly things this morning, in the end. A lot of pointless things that didn't mean much at all. What Clans do and don't do is nothing to do with Juu and I. He's right on that count. And I don't want to be his minder. I just...more than anything...it's just..._

He paused, then,

_I just really don't want to see him die._

A flicker of memory washed over his senses at that moment, as he remembered the helplessness of being a six year old boy, trapped and yet unable to help his Father as he had watched the two men draw their swords, despair and anguish flooding Matsuhara's aura as he raised his dusty blade to fight that one last time.

_I couldn't do anything then. And so often I've not done anything, too. But, dammit, I don't want to see Juu die. And whatever is or isn't going on here, that's all that matters to me right now. Because he's my friend. He really is my friend. He's not tied to agendas or motives or anything else. And I want to keep that the same.  
_  
He buried his head in his hands.

_Does that make me selfish or controlling, that I want to keep him looking forward, yet won't let him take any of the risks he wants to take when he does so? I make less and less sense the more I think this over. All I know is that I really hate being at odds with him. Since Saku he's the first person I've really come to trust...perhaps, on balance, I trust him more than I did her in a lot of ways. Whatever's going on, it sucks. And it's making me crabby and not nice to know.  
_  
He glanced at his hands.

"But moping around in the halls half dressed isn't going to achieve anything except a scolding." He said out loud. "I need to go back and get dressed - if Juu's going to the bath-house, there shouldn't be any more awkward silences at least until someone tells us what we're doing about class now Aitori's been killed."

He turned on his heel, making his way slowly back towards the stairway that led to the boy's dorm. As he rounded the corner, however, he almost ran into someone and he stopped dead, surprise flooding his features as he stared at the newcomer in disbelief.

His companion was equally as startled, his eyes widening even further as he took in the student's haphazard appearance, and at his gaze, colour flushed Shunsui's features.

At length, the man found his voice.

"Shunsui!" He exclaimed, and Shunsui bit his lip, nodding his head.

"Nii-sama." He murmured, then, "I wasn't expecting to see you," he added unnecessarily.

"Dressed like that I should hope not!" Tokutarou's expression became one of amusement, despite himself, and as he felt his brother's hands clap warmly down on his shoulders, Shunsui felt a strange sense of relief flood through his troubled body. "Why is it, Shunsui-kun, that I keep encountering you wandering around in public in your underclothes? Surely if the rumours about you topping the class are true, you've at least learnt something from your time spent here?"

"Mm, but they don't do lessons on how to dress oneself, sadly." Shunsui's own lips twitched into a grin at this, and he raised his dark eyes to his brother's, seeing identical flickers of mirth reflected in the older man's gaze. "Sorry about that. I guess I'll have to wait till second year before I'm properly domesticated."

"Well, you're sober and up before breakfast, so I'll take that as a good sign at least." Tokutarou held him at arm's length, eying him carefully, then nodding. "And though you've been driving me to distraction with your cryptic messages, you seem to be in good health."

"Mm. More or less." Shunsui bit his lip, then,

"Why _are_ you here, Nii-sama?"

"I came to speak to Genryuusai-sensei." Tokutarou responded, and Shunsui affected a hurt look.

"And not to see me? That's cold, considering you and I haven't spoken face to face in several months!"

"True enough, but this isn't a social visit and you were sent here more or less as punishment, not as a merry jaunt." Tokutarou reminded him, and Shunsui frowned, lowering his voice.

"You came about Midori-dono, then, didn't you?"

"And a few other things, besides." Tokutarou nodded. "Though that's neither here nor there. You're walking round aimlessly wearing your night clothes and I can't imagine there are many of your teachers who'd approve of that."

"Right now everything like that is a bit superfluous." Shunsui admitted. "Or didn't you hear about what happened yesterday in the local town?"

"I heard some rumours. I guess they're true ones." Tokutarou's eyes darkened, and Shunsui nodded.

"I'm glad to see you, Nii-sama." He said honestly. "And when you've spoken to Yama-jii, if you've time...I'd like to speak to you too about something."

Tokutarou eyed him for a moment, then he nodded his head.

"I think that might be a good idea." He agreed. "Go get dressed, have breakfast and then meet me at Genryuusai-sensei's office. By then, maybe, I'll know better how to answer all the questions I know you're going to ask."

* * *

**Author's Note: Aizen ;)**

_So is it reaching, then, to bring in the name 'Aizen' at this point?_

_But it seemed so obvious to do so, since we don't know who Aizen's family were. From his high levels of reiatsu, the chances are he was probably noble born in Seireitei in some way or other. And since he knows so much about Urahara and his experiments, as well as having carried out his own, it seemed logical to make his people one of the exiled Urahara descendants that are currently living in District Seven and working for the Endou. Of course, over the generations, appearances change as people's genes mix, so the current Aizen Sousuke probably wouldn't retain many physical features of his ancestor. Yet you can't tell me that an Aizen working in this situation is an impossibility, surely...?_

_By the way, this little fight of Shun and Juu's is not my fault. I swear, it's not. They just did it. On their own. One minute they were walking back to school to report the murder and the next thing I knew Juu was getting all hot under the collar and it spiralled from there :S Any idea how to control rogue shinigami students, anyone...?_


	25. Kyoudai

**Chapter Twenty Four; Kyoudai  
**

"So that's the way it is, then."

Tokutarou sat back on his heels, setting down his mug of tea as he cast his former sensei a grave look. "I admit I heard the rumours riding into this neck of the woods and I was afraid that Kyouki-sama's information had reached my ears too late. I did know, after all, that there was some suspicion surrounding Aitori Hideaki thanks to the girl Shunsui sent my way - I'm sorry, Sensei. I feel like I've dogged your progress by not coming here sooner."

"No." Genryuusai shook his head. "As it is, the situation is a delicate one. Shihouin Midori intends to come here tonight and meet with me. Her messenger says she'll come unarmed, but I will be ready for whatever she brings to the table. Still..."

He rubbed his chin, then,

"Please, tell me again, Tokutarou. What exactly did this young wench say to you when you spoke to her in District Eight?"

"Kyouko?" Tokutarou frowned. "I asked her to come back with me but she went pale at the bare suggestion and no matter how much protection I offered her, she broke down and begged me not to make her travel. So I left her behind, in the end. From what she said to me, she and her friend were taken prisoner from their home because of something the other girl was wrapped up in. She mentioned Aitori Hideaki by name, and another man - a Fujima Yatsuhiko. She also admitted knowing about and occasionally using the illicit chemicals that were smuggled into your District - probably by one of the aforementioned. It's a complicated political web and it's giving me a headache just trying to put the pieces together. But from what Kyouko said..."

He frowned, lowering his voice, then,

"There is no proof." He said softly. "And because there is none, I can't say outside of this office what suspicions I truly have. But Kyouko's description of the man in charge of their abduction fits a neighbour of mine. And if Aitori was not acting for the Shihouin...he must have been acting on the orders of someone close to them. Which, at current time would mean..."

"Yes." Genryuusai looked grave. "I had come to the same conclusion. But there is no proof. And the word - even of Midori herself - would not suffice before the Council. Suspicions are nothing, after all. We cannot act based on those alone."

He smiled.

"But I am glad to see you." He admitted. "And to hear your information, too. It seems I let my guard down enough to allow one viper to slip into my ranks. But it's so hard, Tokutarou, to find good teachers in a world such as this. As it is..."

"As it is, not all of the Clans are able to supply such people." Tokutarou looked rueful. "My own among them. I don't think anyone could blame you for wanting to trust Aitori, Sensei. All Clan have some ulterior motive somewhere, after all. You just have to trust that they favour you at that time and hope for the best."

"If only more of my staff were of Minabe Ayame's ilk."

Genryuusai got stiffly to his feet, moving to his desk to retrieve a sheet of paper on which was a long list of detailed kanji. "But even having her on my staff is a risk in itself. If other Clan realised..."

"That Minabe isn't Clan at all, but a girl you took in, raised and trained when her parents died?" Tokutarou asked softly, and Genryuusai nodded.

"I'm surprised you know that story." He admitted, settling himself down on his cushion and placing the documents on the table. "I hadn't realised you were old enough to know it."

"Minabe trained with Kyouki-sama for a while, when I was growing up." Tokutarou smiled. "I used to watch them, and I remembered being impressed by how much power the two women both had. I realised then that girls weren't to be underestimated in a battle situation. I asked Kyouki-sama about it later, and she told me that Minabe was a protégée of yours - a girl you'd found while travelling between Fifth and Sixth Districts, shivering and hungry by the side of a road. You'd seen her potential and taken her in, and therefore she was now considered your own in the eyes of your Clan. But she told me then that I should think of the girl as a Yamamoto, not as a foundling. Because otherwise it would dent her pride, and hurting a woman's pride was an unforgivable thing."

"Wise counsel." Genryuusai chuckled softly. "Then you understand the delicacies of the matter. She is, to all intents and purposes, Yamamoto now. So much so that it doesn't usually need to be mentioned in general conversation - it's just assumed to be that way. I gave her the family name 'Minabe' because it was my Mother's name, and that way it appears that her family history can be traced back into distant Yamamoto past. It worked extremely well. No one has ever questioned her standing, because I have always vouched for her and she's always shown me absolute loyalty in return. Ayame was more glad than anyone else that this year we were admitting District students, even while she vowed not to go easy on them. In that respect, she's fair. Even if she does hold a lingering grudge where the Kuchiki are concerned."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"It can't be helped, in any case." He said frankly. "She was a small girl and she saw her mother eaten by a Hollow before her eyes. Yet all the Kuchiki Shinigami could do was destroy the beast and leave her behind, alone and shivering in the snow. She's never forgotten that, no matter how much I've tried to move her past it. It was just more proof of the Gotei's shortcomings, which is why I took her in and trained her in the first place. And thanks to her, I've as much information as can be gleaned from the scene of Aitori's murder. But it seems even though his house has been thoroughly searched - there's nothing there that connects him to anyone other than his own Clan."

He pushed one document forward.

"This one in particular is somewhat incriminating in itself."

Tokutarou lifted it, scanning the contents, then nodding.

"I'm starting to think this is what Shunsui was trying to get me to look into." He admitted, setting it aside. "I'm slow on the uptake sometimes, and messages are often cryptic. But it's obvious, now I think about it. With Aitori, and the drugs those girls were using, and everything else. Midori's actions as much as anything. The Shihouin are breaking Council Law and dabbling in illicit chemicals. That's a serious breach and the sentence is death. No doubt what the girl wants to speak to you about is related to that fact."

"I think so." Genryuusai took the sheet back, folding it absently between his fingers. "This letter from her Uncle carries her Father's seal as well, and though it isn't explicit, it's damning enough to indicate something of that nature. Ayame did tell me that she retrieved a couple of like communications which had been slipped between slats in the wood floor of the house, apparently out of view. She also found the broken hilt of a Shihouin dagger buried in the grounds - though she did not manage to find the blade. I believe it's likely the murder weapon used to kill the young girl who was with your stray. Midori's young brother did say that all the weapons were different, and I had him look at the hilt first thing this morning. He confirmed that it belonged to Aitori himself - but without the blade, it's impossible to test for the dead girl's reiatsu."

"So it all ties up to the Shihouin, except for what Kyouko herself says about the man who had them kidnapped." Tokutarou's eyes narrowed. "And that Aitori had an alibi when this town hostess was slain, too. That seems fishy, doesn't it? It reeks of an accomplice in the shadows."

"Which is why I'm going to listen to what Midori has to say." Genryuusai said frankly. "From all I've gathered from the boy Kai, she was forced into this marriage arrangement against her will, and her messenger told me that she was trying to prevent a plot on my life. I'm not afraid of assassins - I've lived this long without losing my life, after all. But that the messenger mentioned it so clearly tells me it's not a Shihouin plot. Or at least, it isn't Midori's plot. I don't like that she took the law into her own hands on District One's territory. But...I want to hear from her own mouth how things are before I send word to my kinsfolk and take the evidence to the Council. If she says what I think she will..."

"Help me to retrieve power in District Two before my Uncle falls...?" Tokutarou murmured, and Genryuusai smiled.

"You underestimate yourself." He reflected. "You may not be quite as spiritually perceptive as your young and foolish brother, but you have your Father's keen understanding of situations nonetheless. Yes, that is what I think. That she intends to invoke the power of the Shadow Cat and take control before the Council moves in and arrests her people."

"The power of the..." Tokutarou blinked, and Genryuusai nodded.

"It's an old Shihouin skill passed between women." He responded. "I've seen it once before in my life, when a Shihouin woman possessed of that skill invoked the sacred traditions of her family and took control of the Clan. It all depends on whether she can do so successfully in the eyes of the Council of Elders, now. In those days, there was no such thing...but now she would have to be recognised by the other Clans as the legitimate head of the Shihouin. And at the moment she's not even second in line. So that's why, I think, she's coming to see me. Because she feels that if she can get the support of her neighbours here, she might be able to persuade other Clans to back her too."

"She really is as crafty a young woman as Kyouki-sama suggested." Tokutarou remarked. "But are you sure you should take so lightly a plan to kill you? After all..."

"Many people have tried that, Tokutarou." Genryuusai offered him a serene smile. "And no one has yet succeeded. I move to make changes, and it makes me enemies. I've no intention of becoming afraid of them now - that would only be giving them what they wanted. If they feel that threatened, the problem resides with them. Not with me."

"But if it puts your students at risk...?" Tokutarou murmured, and Genryuusai shook his head, brushing his hand against his staff.

"Ryuujinjakka sleeps, but it doesn't take much to awaken him." He said simply. "And if need be, he will roar in defence of the children here. Don't worry about your brother, Tokutarou. I will not let him come to any harm while he's in my hands."

"Speaking of which, he's outside." Tokutarou turned to glance at the door. "I told him I'd meet him outside your office when he'd had breakfast, because we have things to discuss, too...how much of this can I share with him?"

"I think the first thing will be to see what he can share with us." Genryuusai said evenly. "He likes secrets, and everything has to be teased out of him bit by bit."

"Yes. I know." Tokutarou said ruefully. "It's one of his less endearing characteristics - it makes me want to give him a good shake from time to time."

"I'm sure a boy like Shunsui could take any number of shakes and still keep his barriers intact." Genryuusai responded. "At least where _we're_ concerned, anyway."

"I beg your pardon?" Tokutarou looked lost, and Genryuusai smiled.

"It seems your brother has made friends here." He said softly. "One in particular seems to have had a significant impact on him."

"Really?" Tokutarou looked wary. "If you're implying that he's been causing some girl hassle..."

"No. Nothing like that." Genryuusai shook his head. "Though he teases them as much as any other young boy his age might do, his behaviour in that department has steadied a good deal. And I think it has something to do with the classmate I mean. You might be interested to know that he's District-born too - Sixth, like Ayame."

"The District boy?" Tokutarou's brow furrowed. "Shunsui's sent me only cryptic mail, nothing about general life, but I did hear something about...so Shunsui's palled up with a boy from one of the Districts? And this kid is bringing him in line?"

"Juushirou is a very interesting young man, in many respects." Genryuusai rubbed his beard pensively. "He has undoubted spiritual potential, but it's more than that. Yes, Tokutarou. I believe that is what he's doing. Not on purpose, necessarily. I don't think he'd have seen it that way. But it's not escaped my notice how Class One has become more and more of a unit since term began. Rather than a muddle of mixed Clans, they seem like almost a group in many ways. And it's clear to me that it's Juushirou at the core of it."

"Well, if anyone can make Shunsui wake up and take notice, I'll happily bow my head to him, District or otherwise." Tokutarou said wryly. "I must meet this Juushirou boy, before I go back to Distict Eight. If just to thank him for taking on the impossible in my stead."

"Meanwhile, let's speak to the impossible himself." Genryuusai reflected. He glanced at the door, raising his voice.

"You may enter, Kyouraku. The door is not locked."

There was a moment's pause, and then the door slid back, revealing a much more presentable Shunsui. He faltered for a moment, then entered the office, bowing his head before his headmaster as he did so.

"I'm sorry, Sensei. I was waiting for my brother...that's all."

"I've invited Genryuusai-sensei to join the conversation for a while." Tokutarou grinned at him. "Or maybe I've invited you to join ours - I'm not sure. But I thought you'd like to know that your young waif Kyouko is quite safely ensconced in District Eight. I've kept my word to protect her, and she's beginning to come out of her shell a little more. Several housemaids have commented that she seems to work hard - and providing she keeps her word to me to avoid all contact with illicit chemicals from now on, I'm going to make her a permanent member of our household staff."

"Really?" Shunsui's eyes lit up for a moment, then, "Is she happy about that?"

"It's what she's told me she'd like to do." Tokutarou nodded. "She's frightened still, Shunsui. She doesn't want to come anywhere near District One. And she feels she has a debt - especially to you - for her life. That you helped her and took her seriously when she needed help - it seems to have reached her. So she wants to stay in District Eight. And I have no objections to her doing so, providing she goes on as she has begun."

"Thank goodness." Shunsui sighed. "I'm glad she's safe."

"It matters a lot, doesn't it, to protect this girl?" Tokutarou eyed him keenly, and Shunsui nodded.

"I couldn't protect her friend." He responded sadly. "But at least I could help make a difference somewhere along the line."

"You seem out of sorts this morning, Shunsui." Genryuusai remarked. "You're aura's unusually unsettled. Has something else happened that you want to bring to my notice?"

"No. Not really, Sensei." Shunsui looked startled. "I mean...there's nothing to report. I'm fine. Really."

"I suppose the general atmosphere here is a little strange." Tokutarou reflected. "With an instructor murdered, and everything else."

"Yes." Genryuusai looked grave. "I will assemble the students and tell them that classes will continue as and where possible until the planned recess, which for the time being will remain cancelled. Hohou will simply have to be covered in whatever way possible till this matter is resolved."

Shunsui frowned, then,

"Sensei, did Shihouin Midori kill Aitori-sensei?" He asked bluntly, and Genryuusai started, staring at him in surprise.

"That's a very forward question." He observed, and Shunsui nodded, colour flushing his cheeks as he did so.

"I know. I'm sorry." He admitted. "But I...it's worrying me a little. That she's here. And that..."

"How much do you know about the Shihouin-ke's current situation?" Tokutarou asked softly, and Shunsui shrugged helplessly.

"Not everything, probably." He admitted. "A little, from Kai...since all of this began to flare out of control. But I'm more worried about...what she might do...here. That's all. I don't know...whether she's someone we're suppose to be trusting or not. And..."

"Have you met with the girl, Shunsui?" Genryuusai demanded sharply, and Shunsui shook his head.

"No, sir." He said honestly. "Not yet. Though I've heard she's very pretty, so perhaps that's my loss."

There was a faint trace of humour in his tones, but Tokutarou frowned.

"Someone has, though?" He murmured, and Shunsui sighed.

"I don't know." He admitted. "Maybe."

"Endou Hirata and Ukitake Juushirou, perhaps?" Genryuusai said lightly, and Shunsui flinched, nodding slowly.

"Y...yes. Maybe."

"Did you know that I'd had a message, then, from Midori last night? That she wanted to meet with me, to discuss something of some urgency?"

"I know there was a messenger." Shunsui's eyes clouded. "But that's all I know. That's the truth, Sensei. I don't know if anyone even _did_ meet Midori-dono. No one has said that they have."

"I will meet Midori here this evening." Genryuusai said frankly. "And I will talk to her. What happens from that point on depends on that conversation. For the time being, therefore, I don't want you to press into this too much, Shunsui. Your young friends may have been playing with fire, but if they did meet her, I imagine they were sworn to secrecy about how and where on account of the fact Midori-dono doesn't intend to be prevented from meeting with me. Her messenger was very explicit about many things. And so I have agreed to that meeting. That's all you need to know."

Shunsui hesitated for a moment, then he bowed his head slightly.

"Yes, sensei." He murmured.

"In which case, if that's understood, you are dismissed." Genryuusai eyed him for a moment, then, "I will be speaking to all students shortly, but since I've already told you what will happen regarding classes, you are excused the assembly. It's been some time since you saw your brother, after all, and I think you have a lot of positive things to tell him about your progress."

He got to his feet, returning the documents to a safer place and then moving to the door.

"Tokutarou, you may take your brother for a walk in the grounds, perhaps." He suggested. "The flowers here are nothing to rival your own, I'm sure, but summer is still a beautiful season in District One nonetheless."

Tokutarou nodded.

"Thank you." He agreed. "I'll do so. If it's no trouble, Sensei, I'd like to stay here for a day or two - I've left my affairs to Yoshiko-dono and if there's to be a meeting tonight, I'd like to remain in District One in case my presence can be of some use in facilitating things."

"With pleasure." Genryuusai nodded. "I'll see to it that quarters are prepared for you."

With that he withdrew, pausing in the hallway outside for a moment, then turning towards the dining hall where he knew most of his students were still eating their morning meal.  
_  
Shunsui skipped his, however, and came to the office right away. I wonder if Tokutarou can settle that - something's amiss with the boy. He's unsettled in a way two murders haven't managed to shake him to till this point. I'll have to keep an eye open and see whether or not it's a Class One matter or one of Shunsui's own skeletons poking its head out of its closet._

As he reached the Dining Hall, he was aware of a low buzz of chatter, and he slid back the door, stepping inside the room and up onto the staff podium. Immediately there was silence, as it was unusual for their Headmaster to join them at breakfast under any circumstances. With Aitori's death the hot topic of conversation, every student in the room was curious to know what was about to happen, and Genryuusai found for once that he did not have to try to have everyone's full attention focused on what he wanted to say.

He did not keep them in suspense long, his gaze sweeping the room as he moved to the front of the podium.

"You are all aware, I think, of the death of Aitori Hideaki yesterday morning." He said softly. "This is a matter for District One to handle, and for the Council to resolve. Classes will continue this morning as usual, so far as is possible. Hohou will until further notice be suspended for all students except the Senior Class, who will report to their usual room at the regular time. I will set the assignment, and you will be trusted to carry out your practical studies alone. Everyone else will treat Hohou as a reading period, and will report to the library where you will be expected to study and not use the time as an opportunity for free talk."

He paused, allowing his words to sink in, then,

"Any students who had plans to go home for the Summer interval must also report to me directly – so far as this is concerned, no student will be travelling from District One on _any _purpose. Lessons will still be suspended for the duration of the ten day period, however there will be _no _permission given for students wanting to leave and return to their homes – _even for those who reside within this district_."

He glanced around the room, taking in the mixture of gravity and dismay on the students' faces.

"Immediately you leave here, please go in your forms to the Great Hall." He said softly. "I will outline the exact details of any timetable and curfew changes more clearly when you are all properly assembled. Is anyone absent from the Dining Hall this morning?"

There was a pause, then Juushirou got slowly to his feet, and Genryuusai was startled to feel the same uncertainty prickling at the young boy's aura.

"Please, Sensei, Kyouraku Shunsui isn't here." He said softly, and Genryuusai frowned.

"Yes. I know." He agreed. "He's had a visitor from his family, and so will not be joining us. I have already spoken to him and will do so again later."

Surprise followed by relief flooded Juushirou's hazel gaze, and Genryuusai wondered at it, even as he indicated for the boy to sit down.

"Is there anyone else?"

"Some of our Class had extra practice with Minabe-sensei this morning, Sensei." Another student from the second year raised his hand.

"Then Minabe will no doubt assemble them with the rest of us." Genryuusai reflected. "Very well. Finish your meals, then, everyone. I will be taking a complete roll call to ensure all students are in their correct places and that none are missing or unaccounted for in any way. And then we will move on to the more important matter facing all of us - your spiritual education."

* * *

"You know, Genryuusai-sensei was right. You are out of sorts this morning."

As they stepped out into the expansive school grounds, Tokutarou cast his companion a quizzical look. "What's on your mind, Shunsui? Or is that a stupid question to ask you, when you've never given me a straight answer to it before?"

"I wish I knew how to answer it." Shunsui admitted. "This time, if I could, it might help. It's just...a lot of uncertain things swirling around. That's all. I don't like how unsettled it feels."

"What kind of teacher was Aitori?"

"A bigot." Shunsui said honestly. "I didn't like him. I don't say he deserved what he got, but he was definitely up to things he shouldn't have been."

"Mm. Without a doubt." Tokutarou acknowledged. "But if it isn't the murder that's unsettled you - what has?"

Shunsui was silent for a moment, then he sighed.

"Juushirou, first and foremost." He said at length. "Him, and his stupid belief in people."

"Juushirou?" Tokutarou's ears pricked up. "That's...the District boy, correct?"

"Yes." Shunsui groaned, dropping down on the ground beneath one of the drooping willow trees, flopping back on the grass, and after a moment, Tokutarou sat down beside him, settling himself more comfortably on the ground.

"He's upset you?"

"No. Not really." Shunsui rubbed his temples. "It's all right, Nii-sama. It's not that big a deal. Really. Just student things."

"Genryuusai-sensei was telling me a bit about this Juushirou boy." Tokutarou reflected. "How he seemed to have fitted right in at the Academy, despite his roots."

"He has." Shunsui glanced up. "But he doesn't know the first thing about the Clans or how dangerous they can be. In some ways it's a good thing, but with this..."

He shook his head as if to clear it, then,

"Nii-sama, you've spoken to Sensei. What do you think about all of this? About him meeting with Midori, and so on?"

"Sensei thinks the girl is making an attempt to take control of her Clan, in order to prevent it from complete destruction." Tokutarou said evenly. "And she seeks the support of her neighbours in District One. As a warrior, Shunsui, I understand her reasons for slaying Aitori. If he was doing what he seems to have been doing, there was little option for her but to act in that way, even if she was taking a calculated risk. What it all depends on is where she wants to go from here. But if she acts as Sensei thinks she will, then I would be inclined to support her. It doesn't seem, after all, as though she is involved in the things that might destroy District Two's Clan. And if the Council takes control of District Two in the Shihouin-ke's stead, it will mean fighting over who has what power of supervision. Better that one of the existing Clan can salvage something - because that family are doomed to face some kind of Council hearing either way."

"About the chemicals." Shunsui whispered, and Tokutarou nodded.

"I thought you'd make that connection." He agreed. "Genryuusai-sensei has written proof of it, too. But he's holding on to it until he's spoken to the girl. And so it all depends on that."

"Juushirou and Hirata went out yesterday, after we found Aitori killed." Shunsui said slowly. "And I'm sure they went to see Midori, but they won't either of them talk about it. Juu's been especially strange about it. And I don't know...why. All of a sudden, why they went. Juu was taking Hirata back to the dorm, because he'd about passed out at the gore. And then they vanished. And since then...it's been wrong. And I can't put my finger on what it is, but it's driving me crazy."

"Because this time you're out of the loop?" Tokutarou asked, and Shunsui snorted, shaking his head.

"If it was that simple, I could bang my head against the wall a few times and get over it." He said disparagingly. "No. It's more that I was afraid...of what Midori might do. Might have done. That if they'd take that risk now, it might happen again and someone could get killed. But Juu got cross with me when I raised it. Said I was trying to protect him and that he didn't need it. So then I said things about the Clans and...agh, it was a mess, really. Just...I quite like the Academy, now. In the long run, I like the people here - even if I'm not the world's best student and even if the teachers generally hate teaching me. I've got people who I consider friends and I've not had that before. Not really. Not in the same way. And it frightens me..."

"That they might be taken away from you?" Tokutarou's eyes narrowed. "Like your Father was? And then your Mother, too?"

"I guess." Shunsui looked embarrassed. "I'm a pitiful mess, aren't I? Thinking and talking like that. I sound like a little girl instead of an eighteen year old Clansman. But even so..."

"Nothing you've said is strange to me." Tokutarou grinned. "It just proves your brain does work like other people's and you do form attachments just the same as they do. That's all."

"Of course it does. I'm not some alien species, you know." Shunsui pulled a face, and Tokutarou laughed.

"Sometimes I wonder." He teased, reaching across to ruffle his companion's messy curls. "You don't always seem to speak the same language. But obviously you're communicating with your peers, so that's something at the very least."

"Stop it." Shunsui pulled himself into a sitting position, ducking out from under his brother's touch. "I'm not six years old any more, you know."

"I know. But I didn't see you at six years old." Tokutarou said regretfully. "So I'm making up for lost time."

"But you don't think I'm being pathetic?" Shunsui grimaced. "I do. I hear myself saying stupid things and I can't stop from saying them. And now Juu's got it into his head that it's something to do with District pride and...Clan pride and...ergh, I don't even know any more. I'm not used to having this kind of argument. I'm onto a loser from the start because first of all he's so much better than me at saying all the clever things that make anyone opposing him look and sound like a complete numpty. And secondly, I don't _want_ to argue with him. I don't even understand why I should be. Is it that wrong to want to look out for him? Am I patronising him after all, worrying that he'll get himself killed by talking to the wrong person?"

"Protecting a friend isn't demeaning them if you protect them because they're your friend - not because you consider them weak." Tokutarou responded evenly, though his expression softened at his brother's heartfelt questions. "That's why warriors fight, after all, Shunsui. What you're protecting is the bond - the friendship. Not the person. If that makes sense. It's not that you consider him weak or are trying to patronise him. You just want to make sure nothing happens to him. And that's how all of us feel from time to time about the people we care for."

He grinned.

"You probably don't realise it, but I've had plenty of moments like that when you disappeared into the local villages and I had to send men to find you." He added ruefully. "There are some things you can't protect people from. But you can always protect the bonds you hold dear at the very least. And if this Juushirou's as clever as you say, he'll realise that soon enough. Even if you don't know how to say that effectively without feeling like...well...a numpty, as you so charmingly put it."

He pursed his lips.

"Did you get that from Sora, by the way? It sounds like her kind of terminology."

"She's probably called me one once or twice - I've lost count of the list of idiot words she has for me so I couldn't tell you." Shunsui shrugged his shoulders, a wry smile touching his lips.

"You've probably deserved most of them, in the end."

"Almost certainly." Shunsui nodded. "I know that better than anyone. That's why I keep telling them all. I'm not smart or special. I'm stupid and clueless. Because it's the truth. I don't know the first thing about anything important...and people get hurt because of it."

"People?" Tokutarou eyed him quizzically. "What do you mean? If you're talking about Father, Shunsui, what could a six year old boy have done in that situation? There was no blame on you there."

"No." Shunsui shook his head. "It's not that. Never mind. It's not important."

"Obviously it is." Tokutarou said evenly. "Because Sensei's right. Your aura is fluctuating a lot more than usual, and whether you tell me or not, I know when you're upset. You hide things - you've done that since I've known you. But there's no need to hide them if it's just me. We're blood, after all. Kin. And if there's anyone you can trust in in this world, I'd like to think that it would be me."

Shunsui was silent for a moment, and Tokutarou could tell he was digesting this carefully. Then,

"I've never talked to you like this before." He murmured. "But I'm starting to think I should have. And that I can. Somehow."

"Yes. You can." Tokutarou rested his hand on his brother's shoulder. "We're Clan and that has certain pressures on us, true enough. But when Kyouki-sama first told me that I had a little brother, I wanted so much to ride to District Eight to see you. Father forbade it, then. He wanted me well away from District Eight and anyone who might hurt me or try and use me as a child to take hold of the succession. But I wanted to. I saw Kyouki-sama's children grow up and I knew I didn't really belong with them, even though they treated me like I did. So I wanted to know about _my_ brother."

"Really?" Genuine surprise flooded Shunsui's features, and Tokutarou nodded.

"Of course, in the four years we've known one another, there have been moments I've wanted to throttle you." He said wryly. "But that's probably because I worry about you. You're a very...solitary person in a lot of ways. And you shouldn't be, because it's not your manner to be. But even so...you seem that way. That's all. I'm glad you have friends here and they're people you care about. It's more than I hoped for, in truth, sending you here."

He sighed.

"It was a last resort. I wanted something to turn you around before you fell into that pit Father did, and this was all I could think of." He admitted. "But it seems to have worked. You've never opened up to me before. If that's the influence of this place, then..."

"It's Juu." Shunsui looked rueful. "All of it. It's Juu. He talks so frankly about things. Anything. Everything. Bad things. Good things. He'll tell you. Trust you. And because he's that honest and forthright, it makes it easy to be the same."

"I really must meet this boy before I go home." Tokutarou mused, and Shunsui laughed.

"I guess it sounds strange, doesn't it? From me." He murmured, and Tokutarou shrugged.

"I prefer it to the miserable individual I sent here." He said honestly. "I don't want an alcoholic wastrel for a brother, and that was where you were heading. You're worth far more than you realise you are, and if you're starting to realise that, so much to the good."

"I couldn't save Megumi, even though she sent Kyouko to me for help." Shunsui bit his lip. "I was just too late. I'm always just too late, Nii-sama. I was too young to save Father, too. And then...Saku..."

"Saku?" Tokutarou's brows knitted together, and Shunsui buried his head in his hands.

"A girl?" Tokutarou pursed his lips, and Shunsui took in a deep breath, letting it out in a rush.

"A childhood friend when I lived with Uncle." He said quietly. "She's now working for Shihouin Midori, it seems. She was the messenger who came to Sensei last night. The last time I saw her was after Uncle's rebellion, when I took the medicine to her town. But it was too late. Her Father had died."

Tokutarou's eyes became slits at this.

"You were in a hurry to leave..." He murmured. "And when you came back, you'd shorn your hair and...that girl wasn't just a friend, was she? She was something else, wasn't she?"

"She was the only friend I had, growing up." Shunsui said sadly. "Because of Uncle, her family were sent away. Because she and I were friends. That was my fault - I couldn't protect her from the effect of the Clans. That's all. I realised how useless it all was then, I suppose. More than I ever had."

"And that's why you're like this." Comprehension flooded Tokutarou's features. "I see. And now you worry about your new District friend getting hurt because of his involvement with the Clans, too?"

"Mm. That's it exactly." Shunsui agreed. "Am I just being paranoid?"

"No...probably not." Tokutarou admitted. "But if this kid's your age, you have to let him make his own decisions too. And if he's the kind of person he sounds like, I'd have a little faith in him to make the right ones."

"Tokutarou-niisama!"

Before Shunsui could respond, there was a yell from across the grass and both glanced up to see Sora coming helter-skelter towards them, her eyes bright with excitement and her cheeks flushed from the sudden exercise in the morning summer heat.

"Tokutarou-niisama! I thought it was you...when Sensei said Shunsui'd had a visitor, I thought it must be you who'd ridden here!" She exclaimed, and despite himself Shunsui smiled, a rueful look in his dark eyes.

"And that ends our conversation." He said frankly, meeting his brother's gaze. "Whatever I've said to you, Nii-sama, it's not for her ears."

"I won't repeat it to anyone." Tokutarou looked surprised. "You shouldn't think that I would - I can be discreet, you know."

He turned, casting Sora a grin as she flopped down on the grass in front of them, breathing heavily as she fought to regain her composure.

"What are _you _doing here?" Shunsui demanded. "Didn't Sensei have you all called to the Hall or something...he said to me that he was going to call an Assembly."

"It finished." Sora said with a shrug. "We're meant to go to the library for this morning's Hohou class but I figured I'd skip it this once. No one's supervising us first years in any case - there's too much going on with all the fuss over Aitori's death for them to bother about us. Since Tokutarou-nii was here, I decided I'd come see him. I'll catch up from Mitsuki later if there's anything I need to know, after all."

She turned, flashing the older brother a grin, and Shunsui rolled his eyes.

"Oh, of course. Because _Tokutarou-nii_ is here." He murmured meaningfully, and Sora's already red cheeks flushed further, this time with emotion rather than exertion.

"Shut up. Is it that wrong to want to see him? I don't much, not any more. And we grew up together too - don't hog him all to yourself, Shunsui!"

"You seem well, Sora-chan." Tokutarou grinned, reaching out to tweak the ends of one of her long curly tails of hair. "And full of energy, as ever. School life's suiting you, then? This one isn't driving you too far to distraction?"

"He's had his moments." Sora flashed Tokutarou a winning smile, shrugging her shoulders. "But nothing I can't handle."

"She can't come into the boy's dorms, fortunately." Shunsui added casually. "Which means I have some respite when she's in a nagging mood."

"I don't nag!" Sora looked indignant. "And you are hopeless. How you managed to finish top of the class I don't know! Especially pipping Juushirou and Kuchiki-kun like that! Both of them have at least worked this term!"

"You're just angry because I beat you." Shunsui said provocatively, and Tokutarou sighed, shaking his head.

"Enough." He said firmly, holding up his hands. "You can have your battle of words later. Sora, thank you for keeping an eye on Shunsui for me. Obviously you've done all right, since he's starting to sound like a human being."

"I don't know that I've done that much." Sora pinkened once more at the praise. "I think it's because Shunsui's decided he wants to come to class now, instead of running off after local tavern girls."

She cast Shunsui a glance.

"Or should I not say that in front of Tokutarou-nii?"

"Bit late, considering you already did." Shunsui pointed out. "But it's fine, as it happens. You're right. At the moment I'm not that interested in chasing after local tavern girls. There are plenty of pretty girls at the Academy, as it happens - and it's easier to stay closer to home."

"Well, don't do anything that's going to cost me money and make me bow my head to a neighbour in apology." Tokutarou eyed him meaningfully. "Because most of those pretty girls have a powerful Clan leader behind them."

"True enough." Shunsui acknowledged. "But it's all right. They know I'm just playing with them, after all."

He offered Sora a teasing smile.

"And of course, I wouldn't dare try those things on Sora-sama here." He added. "Because with you two being practically siblings, I feel like we're almost brother and sister ourselves."

"Will you stop it with that?" Sora demanded, and Shunsui laughed.

"What?" He said innocently. "It's true, isn't it? You even call Tokutarou-nii 'Nii-sama'. Doesn't that make you siblings?"

Sora frowned, her eyes clouding as she shook her head.

"Tokutarou-nii's the head of the Kyouraku-ke." She said softly. "He's equal in status to Okaasama. To say he was just my sibling would be disrespectful."

"You shouldn't worry about things like that, Sora-chan." Tokutarou told her warmly, getting to his feet and patting her gently on the head. "You and your brothers are very special to me. Shunsui's right, after all. You're like siblings too."

Shunsui shot Sora a triumphant look, receiving a grotesque grimace in return. Tokutarou did not notice this, however, dusting the flower petals from his robes.

"I'll be staying in District One a little while." He said instead. "So you two shouldn't neglect your education any further. Go along to your class, all right? I promise I'll see both of you before I leave - besides, I want to meet this Juushirou boy that Genryuusai-sensei was talking about. After all, I want to show an interest in your friendships."

"And Okaasama will be dying to know from you what he's like." Sora said with a grin. "Because she's been asking me lots of questions in her letters to me. She doesn't think it's quite right for her to descend on the school just to peer at him - but she's already spoken to Retsu-sama about him and I'm sure she'd like to hear your opinions too, Tokutarou-nii."

"Yes, I'm sure she would, Tokutarou-nii." Shunsui mimicked, and Sora glared at him, punching him in the arm as she did so.

"I told you already. Stop it." She hissed, and Shunsui grinned.

"I didn't do anything." He said innocently. "Except echo your own opinions, which you can't possibly find offensive - can you?"

"Tell me, then, your opinion on this Juushirou boy, Sora-chan." Tokutarou intervened once more at that moment. "Do you think he fits in with the rest of you?"

"He's interesting. He's different but he fits in." Sora's expression became thoughtful, then she grinned. "I like him. I like him a lot. He looks fragile and thin but he isn't. And he's smart, too. Plus there's one other thing. He doesn't lie. Everything he says is honest - he's a really bad liar."

"An honest person with brains and strength." Tokutarou pursed his lips. "No wonder Sensei thought to bring him here. I hope his doing so won't ruin the boy."

"He's naive and trusting and stubborn as well." Shunsui murmured. "And he doesn't always listen if he thinks his judgment of a situation is the right one. But I guess the worst trait he has is that it's goddamn impossible to stay cross with him about anything. And more, he will keep pushing something he believes in until he gets to the point he wants to get to. If he wanted to take over the whole of Seireitei, Nii-sama, I think that boy could do it. But fortunately for us, he so far only seems interested in using that skill to make friends."

"You make him sound scary." Sora scolded. "What's with that attitude, anyway? Juushirou's your closest friend, isn't he? At least that's how it looks to me."

"Yes. That's the killer of it - he is." Shunsui looked rueful. "Maybe that's why I find it so hard to argue with him."

"Then don't." Sora snorted. "You say stupid things. Juushirou talks a lot more sense than you do, so you should stop babbling and listen to him. He's probably more likely to be right than you are."

Tokutarou laughed.

"You two are definitely the same as ever." He teased. "You should be careful, though. Some might misunderstand that banter as something else. They might even start theorising that the two of you have some kind of further arrangement in place – what with you both getting closer to marriageable age."

"Marriageable…?" Sora's eyes opened wide with horror, and Shunsui shook his head emphatically.

"Definitely not." He said bluntly. "No offence, Sora-chan, but there couldn't be anything further from my mind than that."

"Mine either." Sora said fervently. "Don't tease us, Tokutarou-nii. It's not nice."

Tokutarou grinned.

"Then I'll let you go." He murmured. "This evening may prove to be a bad time, but perhaps tomorrow you can find time to introduce me to your classmate."

With that he winked, withdrawing, and Shunsui and Sora exchanged looks.

"He's joking." Shunsui said at length. "Don't look at me like that, Sora. You know it as well as I do that he is."

"Yes." Sora grimaced. "But even so…the thought's traumatic enough to give me shivers."

"Thanks." Shunsui looked rueful. "Besides, I'm surprised that he'd even tease about it. Obviously he's just as dolt-headed as ever when it comes to you – you really ought to give up and shift your attentions elsewhere."

"What are you talking about?" Sora flushed pink, glaring at him indignantly, and Shunsui smiled.

"Oh come on. It's not like it's not obvious you have a crush on him." He said casually. "Even if he hasn't noticed, I'm sure there are a lot of people who have. You're not exactly subtle about it."

Sora sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"But I'm just his little sister." She said sadly. "That's all I've ever been, really, where he's concerned. He was with our family from before I was born, so I don't remember not growing up with him. But he wasn't my real brother and I always knew that. So…"

She sighed again, shaking her head as if to clear it.

"And you're not really the kind of person I want to talk to about it." She said frankly. "Since you'll use it and tease me about it forever."

"I'll do that anyway, whether you talk about it or not." Shunsui linked his arm playfully in hers, as they began to make their way in the direction of the library. "You should know that by now, Sora-chan."

"Yeah. True." Sora grimaced, pulling her arm free. "And now what are you doing?"

"Nothing." Shunsui grinned. "Of all the girls here, Sora, you're one I'd never flirt with. You have my word on that."

"I don't know if that was a reassurance or an insult." Sora muttered, and Shunsui laughed.

"Neither, really." He admitted. "It's just…to me you're Niisama's sister. So that means you're like my sister, even if you're not. And that's too weird."

"Really?" Sora was taken aback, despite herself. "You're not just teasing when you say that – you really mean it that way?"

"Yeah." Shunsui agreed. "Though teasing you about it is fun too."

"The trouble with you is that I never know when you're serious and when you're not." Sora said acerbically, and Shunsui shrugged.

"Nor do I, sometimes." He admitted. "But this time I think I am. So don't get too mad with me, Sora-chan. Teasing is a sign of affection, after all – at least if it's from me. I can't help being irritating. It's in my genes."

"Tokutarou-nii isn't irritating."

"Mm. I guess that must be the Shiba in his blood, then." Shunsui laughed. "I'm all Kyouraku, which means I'm one hundred percent concentrated irritation, I suppose."

Sora stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"The Academy would probably be boring without you." She admitted, between giggles. "Saying things like that and doing completely random things."

She eyed him quizzically.

"You seem more yourself right now." She added. "But…you haven't been, since yesterday. And Juushirou was odd at breakfast, too. Did you two have a fight? What you said to Nii-sama…"

"A sort of fight." Shunsui agreed. "But it'll work itself out. I need to think about some things, I suppose. And maybe he does too. Don't worry about it, Sora. I'm sure it's not the end of the world."

"Why did Tokutarou-nii come here, anyway?" Sora asked, and Shunsui frowned.

"I can't really talk about it." He admitted.

"Was it to do with Aitori, then?"

"Somewhat, I think. But I mean it, Sora. Yama-jii said it too. I'm not to talk about it."

"If Sensei said it…" Sora pursed her lips. "I guess if that's the case, there's nothing to be done about it, then. Okay. I won't ask you any more questions."

She sighed, stretching her arms over her head.

"But it was nice to have him visit, even if there is an ulterior motive." She added. "I don't see him as much as you do, and I miss him too."

"You mean you pine after him." Shunsui bantered, and Sora poked out her tongue.

"You really are more like an annoying little brother than anything, even if you are older than me." Was her crushing rejoinder. "Stop it already. You've already had open season on me this morning – I can't help it, in any case. It just happened that way. One day, when you actually decide to grow up, you might understand what I mean. Love isn't something you choose by darting around local villages and entertaining local courtesans when you should be home in bed. It's something else and it just happens when it feels like it. That's all."

Shunsui's eyes became serious, and he nodded his head.

"I suppose so." He acknowledged. "I'm sorry, Sora. I suppose that teasing is second nature to me. I can't help it."

"Well, it's not like Tokutarou-nii would ever look at me any differently from how he already does." Sora groaned. "He's already far too Shiba for the liking of your Clan, and to marry a Shiba would only alienate those people more, wouldn't it? It'd be seen as the Shiba-ke taking over District Eight and I know he was determined to prove when he went back there that he had Kyouraku-ke interests in mind first and foremost. So if he does marry, it won't be me he does. Even if he didn't see me as his sister. Right now I'll take that, because it means I get to see him and he's friendly with me – sometimes you have to catch whatever breaks you can."

"Being Clan is messed up in a lot of ways." Shunsui agreed grimly. "Though if Nii-sama knew how you felt…"

"He'd feel guilty and it'd make us awkward." Sora shook her head. "It's better how it is."

At that moment they reached the library, and she slid back the door, ushering him inside. As he stepped through the entrance, Shunsui caught sight of the rest of their class huddled around tables at the furthest end of the room, and he frowned, seeing Juushirou's snow white head bent over a book, with Hirata on his left hand and Enishi on his right. He seemed engrossed in his work, but at their entrance he raised his head, meeting Shunsui's gaze across the library chamber.

There was something in that look that struck Shunsui right through and he frowned, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Are you okay?" Sora cast him an anxious look, and Shunsui nodded.

"Yes. Fine." He agreed. "Naoko-chan's waving to you, though – before she creates a hurricane with those powerful arms of hers, you should go and join her. Mitsuki's buried herself behind a pile of books so I'm sure she'll be only too glad to share them with you."

"You're really impossible sometimes." Sora eyed him in resignation. "Fine. At least you're not planning on flirting with Naoko this morning. She's getting fed up with it, you know, and I don't think she's used to people teasing her the way you tease folk. Plus Mitsuki's shy and she goes red whenever you start making comments – you're never going to find any girl to take you on at that rate."

"Just one girl would probably be lonely anyway." Shunsui reflected, offering her a light grin. "Don't worry about me, Sora-chan. I'm sure I'll make out just fine."

With that he turned, heading across to the table to where his dorm-mates were hard at work.

"I presume that your visitor has gone, then, for you to be rejoining us at this late time?" Ryuu set aside his own thick tome, eying Shunsui quizzically, and Shunsui nodded, dropping down opposite the young Clansman.

"In a manner of speaking. He's not gone exactly, but he has things to do and I'd be in his way if I tagged along." He said simply. "It was my brother, you see – he wanted to speak to Yama-jii."

"About you?" Enishi looked startled, and Shunsui shook his head.

"No. He came for another reason." He said slowly, and at his tone, Juushirou's eyes became clouded. Shunsui's gaze narrowed.

"Juu…" He said softly, and Juushirou bit his lip, lowering his gaze once more.

"Are you two going to be like this for the whole of today?" Enishi demanded at that moment, glancing from one to the other with a flicker of uncharacteristic frustration in his dark eyes. "It's bad enough in dorm, but in class as well? Does it matter if someone knows something someone else doesn't? We're not a bunch of silly schoolgirls, after all! We're learning to be warriors, aren't we?"

"Houjou-kun." Hirata's eyes widened, and Juushirou sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I'm sorry, Houjou-kun." He said contritely. "It's probably my fault more than anyone's."

"No, it isn't." At that moment a fresh voice interrupted the conversation, and all eyes turned to the end of the table where Kai had been languidly flicking through one of the school's core Hohou texts. At the sudden attention he looked troubled, but there was determination in his golden eyes and he shook his head.

"It's my fault." He said firmly, holding his head up resolutely as he met the incredulous expressions of his companions. "I was the one who asked Kyouraku to keep my family matters a secret from you, Ukitake. And I suspect – no, I almost certainly know – that in some way everything that follows also involves those matters. They are not things I can disclose, even if I thought I knew everything about them. But if there is blame, it is blame that should fall on my Clan. No one else is at fault."

"Shihouin." Enishi's annoyance was shattered by this unexpected declaration, and Ryuu frowned.

"How to make a spectacle out of something so trivial." He muttered, reaching for his book once more. "You Shihouin do like to make such a fuss over little matters, and gloss over the big ones."

"This is a big one, Kuchiki." Shunsui said gravely. "And it's a long way from being over."

He cast Juushirou a glance, then,

"I'm not going to ask you any questions." He said at length. "I'm sorry if you think I called your pride into question, and I want you to know that I never meant to make you feel like you needed protecting or anything like that. I just…we're friends, and that matters to me. So I talked to Nii-sama about it, and he said that I should trust you to make your own decisions…that if you were smart, you'd probably make the right ones. I don't know if I think they are or not, yet. But…I think…Nii-sama agrees with you. Because I think…what you're keeping a secret is also part of the reason Nii-sama came here. I won't say what it is, exactly. But Nii-sama was particular about being here tonight…because he thought it might help."

Juushirou's eyes widened in surprise, and then he smiled, relief flooding his hazel gaze.

"I'm sorry too, then." He said honestly. "I think we both said stupid things, and I didn't really know how to react. I have always been protected and I don't know a lot of things. But I…I've made up my mind this time. Even if it's wrong, I'll see it through. I have reasons and I can't tell you or anyone those reasons at the moment because it might cause other people trouble. But I know you were only worrying about me. And it was worrying me too that I was hiding things – so I guess I was annoyed at myself as much as anything else."

His gaze darted to Kai's, then,

"I don't think anyone thinks it was your fault, Shihouin-kun. You're not responsible for your Clan, after all. Just like Hirata's not responsible for his."

Kai's eyes darkened and he shook his head.

"Midori-neesama is the one who killed Aitori and everyone here knows that." He murmured. "I've heard it buzzing round the halls because she used Akekage to do it. I was worried about what she might do – now I'm even more worried about it. But part of it is my responsibility too, Ukitake. Because if she killed Aitori, she did it to protect me. And if she did that…it was because she thought I…I might end up becoming involved in something she didn't want me to be."

"Another assassin's plot in the works, I imagine." Ryuu said off-handedly, and Kai shot him an annoyed glance.

"It's no business of yours, Kuchiki." He snapped. "You don't understand how our Clan works and you never will."

"Thankfully, I have no wish to." Ryuu offered him a flinty smile. "Not since it involves brutally slaying school instructors in foreign land."

He got to his feet, picking up his thick book and taking it back towards the shelves, and Enishi sighed.

"So Ukitake and Kyouraku patch up and now Shihouin and Kuchiki are beginning round two?" He asked wearily, and Kai shook his head.

"He and I have never gotten along and we never will." He said blackly. "Because he has absolutely no comprehension for anything outside of his stupid, stuck up Kuchiki world. He doesn't realise that other Clans have problems and opinions and whatever else, too. He's not interested. If it isn't Kuchiki-ke, it's worthless. That's how he is and how he'll always be. It's how the Kuchiki-ke are."

"That's a bit unfair, Kai-kun." Shunsui objected, and Juushirou nodded.

"Edogawa-san isn't like that." He pointed out. "And even if Kuchiki-kun doesn't always phrase things in the right way, I don't think he feels like that, either. Besides, I have distant Kuchiki blood too – but I'd hope I wasn't that way."

"Edogawa-san is almost as feeble as Hirata is." Kai said disparagingly, and Hirata flinched at the off-hand assessment. "As for you, Ukitake…"

He paused, then shook his head.

"I don't know what to think of you." He admitted. "You make no sense. And even if you have Kuchiki blood…you're not a Kuchiki. Because…"

He faltered again.

"I know you saw my sister." He said softly, his voice barely above a whisper, and at his words, consternation flickered in Juushirou's eyes. "I know you did, because it's the only thing that makes any sense. You probably know where she is, too. District One are looking for her, and people want to interrogate her about Aitori. But you've not said a word. I don't understand why that is. You and I aren't allies. I've not been friendly to you at all. Why would you care about keeping things like that a secret? I don't understand it at all."

"I don't know where Midori-sama is." Juushirou gathered his wits, shaking his head. "As for the other thing…perhaps I thought, maybe, that if she was your sister, and you were worried about her, she couldn't be as bad a person as it seems just from Aitori being killed. And that maybe she had a reason behind it, too. I would think that if she'd do something so drastic because she wanted to protect you, that means that she loves you and if she feels that way, she's probably not a cold blooded killer. I have younger siblings and I don't know what I might do to protect them. I hope I wouldn't kill someone…but I can't say for sure that I wouldn't. Not if it was their lives at stake. And maybe Midori-sama thought there were lives at stake – so that's why she acted how she did."

Kai's eyes opened wide with surprise at this, then alarm as he got to his feet, reaching across to grasp his classmate by the wrists.

"Where is she?" He demanded, and Juushirou shook his head.

"I told you, I don't know anything about where she is." He said calmly. "That's the truth, Shihouin-kun. I was just thinking, that's all, about how important it can be sometimes to have family that cares for you."

"You're lying."

"I'm not." Juushirou shrugged. "It's the truth. Right now, I don't know where Midori-sama is, and nor does Hirata, before you start on him."

"But you did meet with her?"

"Juu didn't say that, Kai-kun." Shunsui intervened at that point. "And even if he did, and even if he knew the things he isn't telling you, there's probably a good reason why you shouldn't ask. If Midori-dono wanted to make contact with you directly, she would. That she hasn't means that Juu's probably right and there's a good reason for it. So sit back like a good boy and wait for her to come to you. Right now, going to look for a woman who's killed someone is only going to make you look complicit. And that would mess up anything the girl tried to do for your sake, wouldn't it?"

"Thank you, Shunsui." Gratitude tinged Juushirou's hazel eyes, and Shunsui grinned, feeling that things had settled between them.

"This all sounds very complicated to me." Enishi sighed, rubbing his temples, and Juushirou offered him an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Houjou-kun. I guess we should change the subject." He murmured, and Shunsui nodded.

"Good idea, since Kuchiki's heading back and this is obviously not something Kai-kun wants to talk to him about." He added. "Speaking of which, Juu, while my brother's here, he wants to meet you. Tomorrow, if he has time. He's curious to speak to you face to face."

"Me?" Juushirou was startled. "Why me? What have I done?"

"You're the District-born celebrity, that's why." Enishi pointed out, and Juushirou shook his head.

"Don't be silly. It's not that big a deal."

"Well, it is, but that's not quite why." Shunsui grinned. "It's because I told him you were most of the reason I bothered coming to classes now. He's heard that I did well in the exams and I told him that you were being a terribly good influence on me. So now Nii-sama wants to meet you himself. And, probably, thank you for putting up with me thus far."

Juushirou flushed red.

"That's crazy."

"Kyouraku's brother is head of District Eight's Clan, Ukitake." Ryuu set his new books down on the table, casting the other boy a glance as he did so. "Perhaps, since he is in the vicinity, calling him crazy is not the most advisable of actions?"

"That's not what I meant." Juushirou shook his head. "I meant that putting up with Shunsui was crazy. Why would I feel like that? We're friends, after all."

"Seems like your brother has a pretty interesting idea of your behaviour, Kyouraku." Enishi looked amused, and Shunsui nodded his head.

"I've given him a few shocks, you might say." He said lightly. "I've been a veritable angel in comparison, since I've been here. It must all be down to Juu's influence, I think – and Nii-sama's truly grateful."

"Well, then I'll tell him he shouldn't underestimate you." Juushirou said firmly, shutting his book with a snap as if to emphasise his point. "Because if he's not going to believe in you, no wonder you don't want to believe in yourself."

"Ukitake…" Kai stared at him, and Juushirou shrugged his shoulders.

"That's how I see it." He said evenly. "If your close family don't support you, who will?"

Shunsui chuckled, shaking his head.

"It's not like that." He said matter-of-factly. "Nii-sama and I had a proper conversation this morning – and you're wrong in one respect, Juu. He does support me. He always has looked out for me, really – even before we met in some ways. The reason he worries is my fault, not his. I did do some pretty hair-raising things when I was at home – I've told you that before. And he said himself this was more or less his last resort. There's a lot of reason for him to feel the way he does – after all, I dragged his name and mine through the mud and caused him and Mother both a lot of worry into the bargain. If he doesn't have faith in me, it's because I didn't give him any reason to till now. That's all."

"You must've really done something to upset him, then." Enishi reflected, and Shunsui nodded.

"Mm." He agreed. "But I'm sure Yama-jii wouldn't want me to taint all of your innocent minds by sharing my exploits."

He smiled innocently, reaching across to take one of his classmate's pile of untouched books and flipping it open casually.

"So you'll just have to imagine and wonder what kind of little devil is living among you, won't you?"

A faint grin touched Juushirou's lips at this, and a rueful look glittered in Shunsui's dark eyes.

"And you don't need to tell them anything." He instructed. "We're supposed to be studying Hohou - not gossiping about my past."

"Not even about that Etsuo Saku girl?" Enishi questioned, and Shunsui frowned, shaking his head.

"No. Not even about her." He said quietly. "That's past now - and so is everything else. And right now, I think the best thing we can do is keep our heads down and study. Whatever else is going on, it's not in our hands right at the moment and that's probably for the best. Let's change the subject, people. Juu, tell me what exactly we're meant to be doing this morning?"

"Just reading and taking notes." Juushirou responded. "Genryuusai-sensei told us to revise what we'd done in Hohou theory up to this point and to make sure we had thoroughly grasped all the aspects of it."

He pushed a book across the table, and as Shunsui met his gaze, he saw warmth in his friend's hazel eyes.

"Since you studying is such a rare event, I'll give you a book before you change your mind." He said lightly.

Shunsui laughed, taking it with a mock-formal bow of his head.

"Message understood." He said with a wink, knowing now that any dissent between them had been brushed away by that morning's conversation. "If that's how it is, then I guess there's nothing to do but get down to it!"


	26. Gambit

**Chapter Twenty Five: Gambit**

"There is a good amount of unrest in the air at present, I feel."

The old woman rested her thin, wrinkled hands together in her lap, casting her second son a piercing glance as she did so. "Everything seems unsettled, with people moving that way and this. And now, it seems, the Shihouin princess has fled District Seven completely."

From his position by the window, her companion did not answer, a preoccupied expression in his pale eyes as he gazed sightlessly out across the land of District Seven. From here, he knew, much of the Endou-ke land could be seen – but even from here he could see the faint streams of smoke in the distance that told of another village being raided and people put to torture and interrogation in order to root out those born with spiritual ability.

Soon, he reflected, there would be no more people in District Seven at all – for those who survived the raids would escape to other Districts, and it would become a matter for the Council to intervene. If that happened, Endou authority might be permanently undermined…and this troubled him greatly, to think that the hard work of so many generations could so easily be disintegrated by one or two foolish decisions.

But there was little he could do about it openly. He could only hope that Midori had managed to make it safely to the fringes of District One.

At the other's lack of response, the old woman's eyes narrowed.

"I'm surprised that I didn't learn of this matter sooner." She said softly, a pointed reproach in her sharp tones. "I imagine that Seimaru must have considerable shame over it for me not to have been directly informed."

"Midori-dono's disappearance was sudden and unexpected." Her companion said softly. "I believe Seimaru was doing all he could to try and limit the damage to our family name by having such a thing occur."

"Mm." The old woman was silent for a moment, as if considering this. Then her lips thinned.

"You had something to do with it, didn't you, Misashi?"

Misashi turned from the window, casting her a rueful look. Slowly he nodded his head.

"I'm sorry, Okaasama." He said contritely. "I realise that I've been meddling in things that it probably isn't my place to interfere in. But given the circumstances..."

The old woman frowned, then extended a thin hand, gesturing for him to approach her. He did, kneeling at her feet as he had often done as a small boy, and she gazed at him pensively.

"It is unlike you to act without speaking to me. I wonder why you did."

"Because the risk I took was my risk, Okaasama. Not your risk to bear as well." Misashi said honestly. "Are you cross with me, then, for keeping you in the dark this time?"

His companion gazed at him for a moment, then her hawk-like gaze softened slightly, taking some of the piercing sharpness from her age-ravaged features. Slowly she shook her head.

"Unlike your late brother, you have never acted without careful consideration." She murmured. "Therefore you must have had a reason for this decision, also. Will you tell me now, Misashi, what it was that drove you to let the Shihouin bird fly our nest? I was under the impression you supported the idea of Seimaru marrying her. Was I wrong?"

"No, Okaasama. I did support it. I thought it would be good for Seimaru to have someone to support him and help him understand his position." Misashi shook his head, raising his gaze to meet his companion's. "Midori-dono is not a stupid girl, after all, nor lacking in power. I hoped that they might forge an alliance like you have with Father, which would be to the benefit of the Endou-ke overall."

At this, the old woman's wrinkled lips twitched into a faint smile.

"You mean that you hoped she might rein in the worst of his excesses and keep this Clan stable?" She asked softly, and Misashi frowned.

"Perhaps I did." He admitted. "I'm sorry, Okaasama. It was presumptuous of me, wasn't it?"

"It may have been." His mother agreed slowly, resting her hand pensively on his shoulder. "But I have faith in you, my son, that I have not had in any other child or descendant I have helped bring into this world. I cannot imagine you to act foolishly or against the interests of the Endou. Which leads me to believe that Shihouin Midori's departure was something you considered beneficial in the long run to our family as well. Despite the immediate embarrassment to Seimaru, you've looked further ahead. Haven't you?"

"I don't know all the details of Seimaru's actions." Misashi sighed heavily. "That's the truth, Okaasama. But I believe it relates to the experiments he and Father are so keen on. And I know that it involves a plot to assassinate Genryuusai-sama of the Yamamoto-ke. It all stems from this ballot over the Academy and whether low-born children should receive training."

"That again." The old woman sighed, shaking her head. "We are not low-born, so why should we care what they do? If someone from another Clan seeks to indulge them, why should we prevent it? All that suggests is that we are not confident of our own strength, if we are so easily rattled by the whims of our neighbours and peers."

She closed her eyes briefly, then,

"And to think that such a thing could be going through that fool boy's mind." She murmured. "Does he not know that Genryuusai-sama is one of the most respected people in Seireitei? Even if he could find a way to kill him, does he think it would be all right for this Clan if he did?"

"What he is thinking is to bring down the Shihouin-ke and take control of the land through his marriage to Midori." Misashi said simply. "More than that I don't know, not in exact detail. But I also see it how you do, Okaasama. That his actions will also bring down the Endou-ke by association. There's nothing I can do from here, and no way I can leave. So instead, I let the girl leave. And though I don't know if I can trust her, I don't believe she's a fool."

"Well, so long as one of them isn't." The old woman looked pained. "Why did you come to me now, then, if you feel so strongly that this is a risk?"

"Because Seimaru's own actions are gaining pace." Misashi admitted. "As I said, I don't know his exact purpose. But I did overhear a conversation between him and Father just last night and it seems Seimaru is considering returning to District One. He did not say to Father, even, what exactly his plans were in going. But I'm sure it has something to do with the exiles this Clan have sheltered since the Council interdict. One of them in particular concerns me. He's a very smart man – too smart to be dealing with someone like Seimaru. And though he is unwaveringly polite and humble whenever he crosses one of the family…I think Seimaru may have entrusted him with reckless things even Father would not endorse."

"Even Father." The old woman looked reproachful. "Should a son speak so, then, of his Father and Clan leader?"

"I'm sorry, Mother." Misashi bowed his head apologetically. "I should not. After all, much as Father does endorse the experiments – I haven't heard that he's supported Seimaru where Genryuusai-sama is concerned. That may be Seimaru's acting alone."

"He has spoiled that young boy to a foolish extent." His mother sighed, glancing at her hands. "So this time, I suppose, I cannot call you on your reservations. I wish I could say after all that your Father had not sanctioned the raids and captures of so many people across this District. But I know he has agreed to it, for I have heard him give such orders myself. In those circumstances, I suppose, there is reason for your concern."

She pursed her lips.

"Misashi, your own son is currently in District One, is he not? Have you contacted him about all of this?"

"I thought it dangerous to try." Misashi shook his head, and his companion let out a snort.

"How do you expect to give the boy a spine if you constantly seek to protect him?" She demanded. "_Your_ one foolishness is that one, Misashi. Your soft spot for your children which borders into over-protecting them from the realities of Clan life. Hirata has a good brain and considerable spiritual potential. Far more than Seimaru has or will ever have. Yet he is a shadow of a boy even at the age he is now. He should have been sent away to be trained in the north of the District a long time before - as it is, do you think you can keep him away from this, too?"

"No. Honestly, Okaasama, I don't think I can." Misashi said sadly. "So long as we have you, our position is safe. You listen to my concerns and you have always shielded us from our enemies. But you are right about Hirata. It has been too long...he has begun to train late on. I have no idea whether this last desperate attempt of mine will work or whether it will not. But it's all I can do, now. I did not want him trained here, not now. Seimaru worries me - far more than my brother ever did."

"Do you seek to train Hirata to _kill _Seimaru, then, Misashi?" The old woman looked curious, and Misashi shrugged.

"Honour battles over leadership happen, even if they're not always pleasant." He replied. "I don't seek the Clan's leadership myself, or even to be Father's heir. But I want to stop that boy doing something foolish that scars us all beyond help."

He eyed his mother hesitantly.

"Would you stand against it, Mother, if I encouraged such a thing?" He asked softly. "If I fell into the trap of this Clan and encouraged Hirata to draw a blade on Seimaru and slay him?"

"So long as your son was able to win that battle, I would not interfere." The old woman shook her head. "I have no blood affection for one who's reckless enough to act in destruction of his entire Clan."

She sighed.

"But I do not know how much longer I will be here, Misashi." She murmured softly. "The truth is I worry more than anyone about this Clan and its future. You should have been born first - if only you had been, I could have rested easily and let go of this confined life a lot sooner. But I cannot leave you all yet. All because I had a fool for a first son...for that I must stay here and do my own penance in the Clan's eyes."

"You're too hard on yourself, Okaasama." Despite himself, Misashi smiled, clasping her withered hand in his calloused ones. "Though I'm glad you are still here. I don't consider your presence a burden, so I hope you'll stay some while longer. I'd like you to see Hirata grow up, after all. I think, if Genryuusai-sama's reputation is as it seems, he will do so. And one day, he will be able to rescue this Clan from the hands of fools."

"I'll pray for that." His mother agreed. "And hope I live to see it. But in the event that I don't, Misashi-kun - promise me this. That no matter what happens, you will not give up on rescuing this Clan. You're the only one I trust, after all, to be able to do such a thing. And I don't have the strength I once did to fight battles in my family's name."

She cast a glance to the silent sword that lay on the table beside her, and Misashi followed her gaze, nodding his head.

"That sword's reputation has kept many wayward Endou in line." He murmured. "If only Hirata could summon one of equal strength – then maybe this family would prosper again after all."

"While you protect him, he stands no chance." His companion said firmly. "But now he is being trained – I will put my hopes in him. At least, in that boy, there is the potential to do such a thing. Potential Seimaru will never have, no matter how much he struts around this place."

"There are far too many hopes resting on Hirata's shoulders." Misashi said heavily. "I only hope that, in the end, he can find the strength to bear them."

* * *

It was a decisive kind of night in all respects, Genryuusai reflected, walking slowly through the hallways of the school towards his own office.

Minabe had thought it a risk, to meet with a killer in his own school premises, but the more he had thought it over, the more Genryuusai had realised it was the right place to do it. Aitori's death still hung heavy in the air over the Academy, with suppressed feelings and resentments fit to bubble over at any moment. For that reason alone, he felt, it was important not to be seen to leave the school under cover of darkness. Midori would come and they would speak. And things would be decided from that point on.

He passed the door of Aitori's office, locked and barred since the news of his death had reached him. The room had been searched but nothing new had been revealed, and now it lay undisturbed – an empty shrine to a man who had undoubtedly been intelligent but never, really, popular. Though many students had aired opinions, Genryuusai had heard few really mourning the death of their Hohou instructor. More it had become a topic for idle discussion – a scandal that had spread like wildfire from class to class.

Yet there were some, he knew, who would probably not discard the matter quite so lightly.

He paused outside his former subordinate's chamber, his eyes narrowing beneath his thick white brows as he registered the faintest of scratches against the fastening, and the slight gap between the wood panel of the wall and the door itself.

Someone had been here, then. Just as he'd expected.

He paused, then slid the door back, standing for a moment in the doorway as he took in the office's unruly surroundings. There had been little attempt to tidy the room after Minabe's thorough searching through his documents, so it was difficult to know if anything had been taken.

Though Genryuusai's keen instincts told him that something almost certainly had.

He frowned.

_So it will come to this, after all. Tonight will be a test of the Shihouin-ke and my students both, will it? I see._

He hesitated for a moment, deep in thought as he scanned the chamber one more time. Then he sighed, stepping back and shutting the door once more.

_If they make it a matter for a Clan to resolve then I will let them resolve it. My business tonight is with Midori. If fools rush in, they will learn their lessons soon enough. I will not interfere in anything I do not have to – it is not for me to play judge and jury over District Two's divisions. So long as they are my students, I will protect them with my life. But if they act outside of that brief – I will not move to defend them. No matter what the night brings – I will not become a pawn in a Shihouin civil war._

His eyes became slits.

_I am not interested in training those who put their Clan pride above their pride in their duty to Seireitei. Whatever the outcome, tonight I will know for sure. Just how much of a gamble it was for me to accept Shihouin students into my first year classes…and whether or not either one of them can put the pressures of Clan aside in order to find their true potential. If they can, I will support them. If they cannot…they are no longer of any interest to me at all. _

_This Academy is designed to build teams – not favour individuals with unreasonable motives and dangerous expectations. Clan people have far too much free reign – tonight will doubtless show just where it is such free reign can lead – and how foolish Nobles train their children to fight in battles they do not understand. For this reason, after all, too many young and gifted people die. People Seireitei needs – the re-education starts here._

He turned his back on the office, continuing on his way to his own room, knowing that his mind was made up.

_If they survive the night, I will judge them on their conduct. If they do not, then that will be their decision made by Clan vows. Either way, my business tonight is with Midori and that is all I will let it be. From hereon in…we'll see exactly where people's true loyalties lie._

"Genryuusai-sama?"

Retsu's soft voice made him glance up, registering the head of the Unohana-ke waiting by his office door. Not far away he saw the impatient, edgy Minabe and at the end of the hall, Tokutarou, and despite himself he smiled.

"This is a one on one meeting, you know." He said softly. "There's no reason for so many people to be gathered here when Midori only wants to speak to me."

"Minabe was concerned about you meeting with her alone." Tokutarou leant up against the wall, folding his arms casually across his chest as he eyed the old man thoughtfully. "And besides, this is a political matter. Retsu-sama and I are Clan Heads – our decisions on this subject will be called for sooner or later either way."

"But not tonight." Genryuusai's gaze flitted to Minabe, taking in the awkward consternation in the tall woman's eyes.

"You don't think me in danger, do you, Ayame?" He said quietly, and Minabe shook her head.

"No." She said quietly. "But this building is full of young students, most of them barely more than babies when it comes to their skill to fight. Even Urahara Yunosuke probably isn't a match for your visitor this evening…and if you had to release Ryuujinjakka that might blaze the whole building to the ground. It concerns me, Sensei. That's all."

"You worry for the students' safety?" Genryuusai's lips thinned. "Then my next instruction will please you not at all, I'm afraid. I want you to ensure that – unless you sense the aura of a released _zanpakutou_ – you stay in your quarters and do not get involved in anything that might occur. Will you give me your word, Ayame? I don't want you to be prowling the grounds this evening, not with so many things at stake."

"That seems a strange instruction, if I may say so, Genryuusai-sama." Retsu looked surprised, even as a stricken expression flooded Minabe's features. "To tell a teacher not to come to the defence of her students, even though she is so obviously concerned for their safety."

"Tonight's encounter may well end in trouble and bloodshed." Genryuusai said gravely. "What Midori's motives are as yet I don't entirely know. But another has already begun to move this evening. Aitori's office door was ajar, even though it has been kept locked. I suspect that tonight we might see a reflection of true Clan pride. And I want to let it happen."

"Even if a child is killed?" Retsu's eyes became horrified, and Genryuusai shook his head.

"I hope it won't come to that." He admitted. "But at the end of the day, there is poison running through that Clan and the only way to get rid of it completely is to flush it out into the open. I haven't liked the quietness from that sector of the school since Aitori died. It makes me certain that something is bubbling under the surface and tonight it will rear its head. I don't know how many students know Midori is coming here. But I'm sure that her own Clan would detect her even where others might not."

"So you're saying, basically, that they're to fight it out among themselves?" Tokutarou frowned. "That's a big risk, isn't it?"

"Seireitei is a dangerous place and this isn't a school which will mollycoddle and protect its future warriors." Genryuusai said simply. "Better they learn now, while their skills are limited, just what their place is in this world. I don't want to train youngsters who will only turn that power against the good of Soul Society. Maybe it is a harsh decision – perhaps it is a risk. I won't take pleasure from any student being killed as a result of my decision. But either way, that is my decision."

Retsu sighed, rubbing her temples, then,

"Then what would you have us do, Genryuusai-sama, if we aren't to help those this school should nurture?" She murmured, and Genryuusai sent her a slight smile.

"I trust that even if I told you your services here would not be needed tonight, you'd stay here anyway." He reflected. "But I want you to dismiss the rest of the staff in the Healing Bay. If there is an injury, I won't stop you from taking the injured and treating them, because I know you wouldn't forgive me otherwise. But I don't want to make this evening a spectacle and there's no reason to have unrelated staff involved. Even though I don't know how things will play out yet, with the students theoretically confined to their dormitories – so long as they obey that instruction, they will be safe enough."

"I see." Tokutarou looked thoughtful. "It boils down to a test of who'll put Clan pride before obedience to a superior's direct instruction?"

"Something like that." Genryuusai agreed. "Do you disapprove too, Tokutarou?"

"As a soldier I understand your reasons. As a Clansman, too." Tokutarou admitted. "But as a brother…"

He faltered, then let out a sigh.

"I hope Shunsui has the sense to stay where he should be for once in his life." He reflected. "But obeying orders has never come naturally to him – if you think tonight might start trouble, I dread to think where he'll be during it."

"Shunsui is a remarkably powerful young man, with skills already advanced beyond his year grouping." Genryuusai said softly. "If he were to apply himself more closely, there would be no reason why at the end of this year he could not be jumped straight up into the third year. Yet he is lazy, and I don't want to reward his laziness with allowing him an easy ride. Discipline is something he lacks and he needs all the training he can get in that department. Also, I believe the students he currently studies with are more likely to cure that habit in him than any amount of beatings would. And, if it came to a matter of necessity – I don't think that you should worry too much about his skills, Tokutarou. He's not a fool, even though he likes to play it on frequent occasions. And it would be good for him, too, to learn to understand when no means no. The order applies to _all _students. He is not Shihouin therefore tonight's events have even less to do with him than they do some of his classmates – there will be no reason for him to leave his dorm."

"Kyouraku is a pain." Minabe said gruffly. "If he bothered to show as much attention to his stances and strikes as he does to the girls when they're practicing, he'd be far nearer Houjou and Shihouin in his Kenjitsu scores. I dislike lazy students…the more time I have to beat sense into him the better."

"I think that conversation can wait for another time." Genryuusai held up his hands, seeing the look of dismay in Tokutarou's eyes at the woman's brusque assessment of his brother's behaviour. "For the time being, tonight I intend on meeting Midori in my office. Alone. Tokutarou, Retsu, if you have a message as Clan Leader to convey to her, please tell me now – I will not have anyone else intrude on the meeting until I learn her reasons for being here and ascertain that Akekage is not with her."

"If she intends to take over the Clan, and if she comes here in peace in the way she suggested, I will support her." Tokutarou said gravely. "Whether I like what's going on in that District or not, having seen the evidence, it's the only logical solution to the problem. District Two coming under protectorship would be a political disaster for Seireitei – at the worst it might re-ignite old conflicts over land and power that the District system was supposed to overcome. So I want to keep a Shihouin in charge of District Two. I don't really care too much which one at the present time – so long as they're obeying Council Law and not causing any problems for anyone else."

"I cannot give an opinion without returning to District Four and discussing the matter with my kin." Retsu said softly. "I have no direct message to convey to Midori-sama, Genryuusai-sama. Not at present. Only I will not make any attempt to intervene in her coming or in her intentions unless they affect my District personally. I will cast judgement only before the Council after consulting the Unohana. I will do nothing otherwise."

"Then it is settled. And she will soon be here." Genryuusai brushed his fingers absently against his long, white beard. "Ayame, please remember what I said. I know you worry for the students – I know your concern is always for them, and that I can count on you above all others to protect them when times become dangerous. But tonight I would like you to let them act how they see fit to act. I will let the Seniors alone deal with any matters of breaking curfew – for tonight, I want to see who is who and if there is a teacher on sentry duty it will be less easy to see that."

Minabe hesitated for a moment, then she sighed, bowing her head towards him.

"Yes, Sensei." She murmured. "I'll do as you say."

"I'm sorry, Ayame." Genryuusai sent her a faint smile. "I hope that when the morning comes you won't have reason to make me regret my decision."

Minabe did not answer, but the look in her eyes as she left told the old man that she felt the same way too.

_Severe and frightening on the outside you may have made yourself, Ayame-chan. But I know better than anyone how much you care for those youngsters and how much you're itching to be able to protect them from anything that might happen. That's why you work so hard to train them, and push them so hard as you do. You don't want any of them to be like you were, scared and alone and facing a Hollow without any defences. Yet tonight is a Clan matter and that alone you still don't fully understand. That's why I have to take this risk, regardless of the outcome. Even if it's one I regret – this is still the way I must act._

He turned, casting the two Clan leaders a smile.

"Retsu, if I can trust the Healing Bay to your tender mercies." He murmured, and Retsu bowed her head in acquiescence. "Thank you. And Tokutarou…"

"I'll return to the room you've loaned me, and wait it out." Tokutarou agreed. "But if she wants to speak to me, Genryuusai-sensei, I'll speak to her as well. Providing she's kept her word to you about coming here and doing so unarmed – I'm happy to open dialogue with her tonight, too. That's why I stayed, after all. In case that happened."

"Very well." Genryuusai nodded. "If that's the case, then I'll be sure to send a message to you if the conversation needs it. For the time being, however, I must greet her here alone."

"Then we will leave you to do so." Retsu murmured softly. "Will you come, Tokutarou-sama? For now all we can do is have faith in Genryuusai-sama's decision, after all."

With that they were gone, and Genryuusai opened the door of his study, stepping inside.

Soon, then, it would begin.

He frowned, picking up the faint flickers and darts of reiatsu sparking across the school grounds.

Though what exactly 'it' was…only time would tell.

He sighed, sinking down at his desk as he prepared to wait for Midori's arrival.

_At the very least, I want to talk to her, and find out what the truth of it is. At the very least, I hope I can do that much. Seireitei has far too many problems already without one Clan creating a scene – so if I can at least settle that matter in my mind tonight, so much the better. At least then, maybe, I'll know how to act._


	27. Clan Blood

**Chapter Twenty Six: Clan Blood **

Kai paced across the floor of the common room, pausing every few moments to gaze out at the silent summer sky beyond the glass window. It was late, and most of his fellow students had already withdrawn to their dorms to obey Genryuusai's curfew order, but yet somehow he could not rest quite so easily. Though the hour was clicking ever closer to midnight, he knew that things had not even remotely begun yet. From Shunsui and Juushirou's cryptic conversations to his own deep-rooted suspicions, he had become convinced that there was a reason why Genryuusai had so specifically instructed all students to be in their dorms at the chime of the evening bell. That had been almost an hour earlier, and only a few of the very senior class led by Yunosuke were still out and about, patrolling the corridors for stray students.

But Kai was a Shihouin, and stealth was his forte. He had easily avoided the patrols, doubling back on himself and returning to the common room. Though he knew he would be in trouble, even so he waited, his senses straining for any sign of his elusive older sister.

_  
Midori-neesama, I know you're out there. I know that you plan to come here, tonight. I'm sure of it. And I want to talk to you. I want to find out what's going on...I want to know what's going to happen to our family now. _

As this thought crossed his mind, an image flashed across his senses of his sister, then aged sixteen, with her thick violet hair flowing loose and wild around her shoulders and her blade glittering with eerie red light as she stood over the blood-soaked form of his former Kenjitsu instructor. The man had been a hulking brute, cruel and sadistic in his training practices, and Kai knew he still bore scars of the harsh lessons he had received under the man's unrelenting whip. But that Midori - proud, determined Midori - could take such a man down without breaking a sweat had been completely unexpected. That day, Kai had realised the reason why his mother had entrusted Midori with the Shadow skill - and even then, prickling in the back of his mind, he had wondered what it would mean in the long run.

Though he had not seen Aitori's body, he knew only too well that the same technique had been used then. And that Midori had shown no mercy in the way in which she had conducted the execution. Akekage's release had been forthright, dark and sweeping, and it had devoured Aitori's life in a matter of moments.

_But surely Midori-neesama came here because she wanted to prevent what Aitori was doing. Surely she didn't come here because she intended to draw that weapon on anyone else here? Uncle didn't send her, so she's acting alone. But even so...surely that means..._

A flash of something in the grounds beyond caught his attention at that moment, and he pushed the thoughts aside, running to the window as he scanned the landscape for any sign of the person he had seen darting across the grass. For a moment he could not make anything out, then, as he caught the faintest flicker of moonlit shadow, his brows creased and he pursed his lips.

"Tomoyuki." He whispered, his hands already fumbling with the catch of the window. "I should have known."

His cousin had been unusually quiet following the murder of his uncle, and Kai had found it strange at the time that the boy had not reacted with either anger or grief at the announcement of Aitori's grisly demise. On the contrary, he had kept himself to himself, not even meeting Kai's gaze in the hallways, and Kai had begun to wonder if his kinsman had deliberately done his best to avoid contact between them. Yet even so this unsettled him more than it did anything else. Tomoyuki was a hot-headed idiot when he wanted to be - yet this reaction had been completely out of character.

Unless he had already had something else planned.

At that moment he managed to get the window catch unlocked, pushing it open and clambering up onto the sill. Glancing around him to make sure nobody was there to see, he tensed his body, leaping silently down into the long grass below. Pausing only to push the window shut once more, he extended his senses across the grounds, searching for the tell tale flicker of Onoe's reiatsu.

At first he could not find it, but then, as he felt it flare, his heart leapt into his throat and he hurried in the direction it had come from, knowing instinctively that his cousin had revealed his position for a reason and that, even if he could not clearly sense his sister, the likelihood was that she was there.

As he reached the back of the gymnasium, he found his fears were realised for Onoe stood at one side of the clearing, tension flickering up and down his taut frame as he glared across the grass at the interloper.

"You have nerve coming here, Midori." He heard the boy say. "After the crime you have committed against your Clan, you have a lot of nerve to show your face! Don't you know that District One want you for murder? You're shaming the whole of this family - and you used my Uncle's life to do so!"

"Get out of my way, Tomoyuki. I have no business with you." Midori's words were soft-spoken and calm, though as Kai drew closer he could see the annoyance in her own golden eyes. They were masked by something else, he realised - consternation and indecision, and he realised with a jolt that his elder sister was debating what exactly to do next.

_She killed Aitori. Would she kill Tomoyuki too, on school premises, because he's choosing to stand against her?_

Kai's eyes narrowed and he shook his head to clear it.

_  
I can't let her do that. Whatever happened with Aitori, Genryuusai-sensei would never forgive the murder of one of his students on his own grounds. It would become a huge incident, if she released Akekage here...an incident the Shihouin probably wouldn't ever recover from._

With that thought in mind, he darted out of the undergrowth, positioning himself directly in front of his sister as he faced his startled cousin resolutely. Behind him, Midori's reiatsu did not flicker for a moment, and Kai realised that, unlike Onoe, she had sensed his coming probably from the moment he had left the school building. Yet even so she did not speak, and somehow Kai found himself unable to look at her, focusing his attention on his schoolmate instead.

"You're not going to do anything to my sister." He said firmly. "And Sensei wouldn't sanction it, if something happened here."

"No one asked you to interfere." Onoe's voice shook and he glared at Kai darkly. "She's your precious sister, so I might've known you'd protect her. But she's a murderer and a traitor and she's come here with death in her eyes. You turn your back to her, but she could easily kill you before you even blinked. That's the kind of creature the Shadow Cat is, it seems. You're foolish to get involved."

"If that was the case, she'd kill you just as easily, so facing her is foolish for you too." Kai shot back.

"I didn't come here to fight anyone." Midori stepped forward at that moment, resting her hand on Kai's shoulder. "Kai-kun, you shouldn't be here. You'll get into trouble."

"You haven't spoken a word to me about anything since you left District Seven." Kai snapped, sudden anger flooding his senses at the calmness in her voice. He glared up at her indignantly, resentment flowing through him as he did so. "You left me to worry and even now you haven't said a word about it to me. So in that case, I don't have to tell you how I intend to act or what I intend to do. If I choose to intervene...if I choose to face Tomoyuki and tell him to stand down, that's up to me. You're acting of your own free will of late, Neesama. I'm going to do the same."

Surprise glittered in Midori's gaze, followed by a faint smile, and she nodded.

"Yes. I suppose I know you are." She murmured. "I'm sorry, Kai-kun. There was no other way this could be done. I didn't want to involve you in the murder of your kinsman."

"So you admit that it was by your blade Hideaki-jisama died?" Onoe demanded, and Midori's gaze flitted to him in apparent annoyance as she nodded her head.

"My doing so was a message. There's no point in my denying it." She said coolly. "Go back to the school, both of you. I've come here tonight without any intention of causing violence. Akekage is not with me...but I still know enough combat skills to cause harm if I'm threatened."

She cast her brother a glance.

"I came to speak to your headmaster, and he is expecting me." She added softly. "Are you reassured, Kai? I have come here for the sake of our Clan, not for any other reason. And I made a promise not to kill anyone else in the pursuit of that end."

"A promise?" Kai stared at her, momentarily taken off guard, and Midori nodded.

"We will talk. Later." She murmured. "And I will address your reasons for being angry with me. I know there are many, otouto-kun. But you will understand, I think, when I give you everything in full. For the time being, however, I have to go. I have to see Genryuusai-sama tonight or he will not see me at all - and that would be a grave situation indeed."

"You're not going anywhere!" Onoe launched himself towards Midori angrily, but Kai reacted just as swiftly, blocking the attack and pushing his cousin back.

"You don't lay a finger on my sister, I told you!" He said darkly. "Get a grip on your wits, Tomoyuki! You heard Midori-nee! She has reasons for being here. She's come to speak to Sensei. We both know what Aitori was involved in - we both know why she killed him. You can't pretend otherwise. If it's for the sake of the Clan, all you can do is accept it! That's how it works to be Shihouin!"

"She's nothing but a traitor and a killer. She has no right to act outside of the orders of the Clan leader." Onoe shot back, wrestling himself free of Kai's grip. "You know that as much as I do too! She's acted entirely on her own wishes, not on the Clan's wishes!"

"True enough." Midori glanced at her fingers, then sighed. "Kai, I have no time for this. Can you take Tomoyuki back to wherever you should be and keep him quiet? I have to go...I won't be late. Not when so much relies on this."

"Don't worry, Nee-sama." Kai nodded his head, slipping across to block Onoe once more. "I can do that. But I want to know everything, later. Because whatever your reasons, if I'm supposed to believe in them and defend them, I need to know what they are."

"I promise." Midori said softly. Then, with a flash, she slipped into shunpo, and the two boys were left alone in the school grounds.

"Let me go after her!" Onoe tried to wrestle past Kai's grip but despite the boy's inferior size, Kai had not been training since infancy for nothing. As he had done so many weeks before in the class battle against Enishi, he used his speed and nimbleness to his advantage, neatly cutting off Onoe's attempts to break free of his attention and run across the grass in the direction of the head's study.

"You and I aren't going that way." He said frankly, grasping his cousin by the wrists and giving him a shake. "Snap out of it, Tomoyuki. Shihouin don't fight each other like this. Not when so many other things are at stake."

Onoe's eyes glittered angrily, and he wrenched himself free once more.

"My Uncle is dead. Killed by his kinswoman." He said darkly. "How, then, do you justify that?"

"I don't know Midori-nee's motives any more than you do." Kai said frankly. "She hasn't spoken to me, yet. But I believe in her, nonetheless. She's the Shadow Cat, after all. Had you forgotten what that means in terms of our family?"

"It means nothing to me when stained with my Uncle's blood!" Onoe exclaimed, launching himself once more at his cousin and this time causing Kai to stumble backwards. The two fell to the ground, wrestling for control of the situation as each tried to take advantage of the other's weakness. Onoe had always been the less proficient of the two, yet even in the few weeks they had been at the Academy his skills had improved, and Kai was surprised by the sudden strength and determination of his mode of attack as he fought to gain the upper hand once more. Never, in the past, had Kai lost this kind of confrontation. But then, he knew, the honour of his dead kinsman hadn't been glittering in Onoe's eyes, driving him on almost like madness as he came again and again to counter and push back each of his cousin's attacks.

At length Kai managed to force his advantage, pinning Onoe down against the grass as he struggled to catch his breath. His hair hung loose from its tie in the struggle, and he knew that there would probably be questions asked if he went back to the dorm in this state. Yet he did not falter, staring down at Onoe as he did so.

"Stop fighting me." He ordered. "I rank higher than you, Tomoyuki, in class and by blood. We both know who has the better reiatsu. Who's going to win this fight. You've never beaten me in any form of conflict since we were boys. You know that. Just like Midori-neesama knew it, too - she could've killed you very easily, but she didn't do it. You should be glad that what sins your Uncle committed haven't spread to you."

"You can't justify what she did." Onoe spat out. "You can't, no matter how much you try. You're an idiot, Kai - your own sister hasn't told you her plans yet you still defend her actions?"

"Of course." Kai nodded grimly, tightening his grip as the other boy struggled, trying to wriggle free. "She's my sister and I'm Shihouin. Whether I understand or not, I'll defend her till I die. That's what this Clan is about."

"And you don't think I have that pride, too?" Onoe shot back. "That maybe, when my Uncle is slain, I have the right to cry vengeance?"

"Aitori wanted us to do something that would destroy the Clan." Kai murmured. "I've thought about it. I've thought about it a lot, since that town girl was killed. Even more, since Aitori was. He would have got us both into trouble. Cost us both our lives. And sold our souls to another Clan to do their dirty work. This was never a Shihouin plan, after all. Or do you want to be subservient to our so called allies, while someone outside of District Two pulls on our strings?"

"Let go of me!"

"When you listen." Kai shook his head. "Midori-neesama's done what no one else dared to do. She's put a stop to Aitori's hold over both of us. You may not care, but I was worried where it was going. Especially since the girl was killed with a Shihouin blade. Aitori's blade, Tomoyuki. His own weapon. I identified the hilt myself. He intended the trail to fall with the Shihouin-ke, knowing that only one of us could identify the weapon as being his. And knowing that none of us would, because of our Clan pride."

"Yet you just said you went against that pride and identified it anyway." Tomoyuki's eyes glittered with hate, and Kai felt his companion's reiatsu surge again beneath his touch. "You're as much a traitor as Midori, in the end."

"That's Midori-dono to you!" Kai snapped, bringing his hand down hard against his companion's cheek. "Houjou blooded your nose for saying foolish things about Ukitake and illicit chemicals, and I'll do the same if you continue to address my sister in such an informal way! She's born above you - just as I am. You're lucky she didn't blow you away with her Kidou for your impertinence!"

"Then you're our enemy too, are you?" Onoe's eyes were flinty and cold. "You side with the traitor and not with the orders that the Clan Leader instilled in us and in Hideaki-jisama when we first came to this place? Our loyalty is to him over everyone else. Even over your precious sister. Did you forget why we were sent here? Or have you fallen into Genryuusai-sensei's trap and begun to believe the things he teaches about teamwork and Seireitei's future?"

"What I think is none of your business." Kai spat back. "Not when you act like this against the honour and pride of your family! Genryuusai-sensei hasn't undermined our people since we came here – and he trusted in Aitori, even though Aitori betrayed him. I don't want to be the kind of Shihouin Aitori was, in the end. That's not how our family is!"

"Even though we're assassins and shadows, Kai?"

"Assassins and shadows, maybe. But ones with honour." Kai's voice shook and he tightened his grasp on his cousin's body as anger stirred once more within him. "Did you forget that part? _Ones with honour_!"

"And ones who obey the orders given, instead of making up our own." Tomoyuki returned sharply. "_Kamuki-sama_ is the head of the Shihouin Clan. To us nobody's instructions are more important. Hideaki-jisama was following those orders and yet he was murdered! Alliance with another Clan is none of our business. Obeying our brief is! Even if we died, that is what we were sent here to do! Or are you a coward who fears facing death?"

"I'm a Shihouin." Kai said flatly, his own eyes hardening at the bitterness in the other's words. "So that's a redundant question. Death and honour go hand in hand and I'm not afraid to risk my life for my Clan. But I'm not going to spend this evening fighting with a fool. You can't overcome my strength, so you might as well give in and come inside. We'll all know, tomorrow, after all. What it is Midori-neesama came here to do. And whether or not it's something you ought to accept before it gets you into more trouble."

Onoe's eyes narrowed to slits, sparking golden fire as he glared up at his cousin.

"I have heard from Seimaru-sama." He said softly. "And he is coming to District One himself. Then things will move. He was scorned by your sister and now he's been betrayed by you. Uncle is dead. I am the only one left in whom he can trust. And I take my orders seriously, Kai. No matter what else is happening. Kamuki-sama endorsed our alliance with the Endou-ke. And so if no one else will, I will act. If it costs me my life, I will act."

"Seimaru-dono?" Kai's eyes widened, momentarily taken off guard, and Onoe nodded, a cool smile touching his lips.

"If you are in my way, you are also the enemy." He murmured, and Kai was suddenly aware of his companion's movement, followed by a deep stabbing pain burrowing through his gut and into his chest. He gasped, falling back, and as he dropped to the ground he caught sight of glinting metal in the moonlight, staring in disbelief at the red-tainted tip of the Shihouin dagger.

"Uncle kept my blade in his office, and since there's no one using that at the moment, it was easy enough to retrieve it." Tomoyuki got to his feet, wiping the still dripping blood on his _hakama_ as he gazed down at his companion. "Sensei's locks are no challenge for a shadow, after all. And I'm not into this honourable fighting business you babble about incessantly. I didn't learn to fight just for show. Not when it comes to obeying Kamuki-sama and the Clan's interests. If you side with Midori then you've become a traitor and a liability. And besides, she killed someone dear to me. Now I get to repay the favour."

"You bastard." Kai gathered his wits, clutching at his side as he scrambled to his knees, tightening his grasp as he attempted to stem the flow of blood that gushed from the wound at his movement. "That's a coward's blow."

"And many people consider an assassin's Clan to be cowards that move in shadow." Onoe said simply. "You've simply been here too long and you've forgotten that we strike first and we strike quickly. Honour only comes into it when it comes to the name of our Clan over all others. To kill, we do what we must."

"And you're intending to kill _me_, now?" Kai snorted, dragging himself to his feet. "Even with a wound like this, I'm still more than your equal."

"I was going to use my blade to slit your pretty sister's throat." Onoe responded coldly. "But you got in the way. So I'll deal with you first and her later. She'll come, after all, when she senses your dying throes. And I won't fail then. People are counting on me...I won't let them down."

His eyes narrowed, and despite his apparent calm, Kai could see the fierce anger burning in the depths of the golden eyes.

"That wound will slowly bleed till you lose consciousness, in any case." He said blackly. "I know where I was aiming and the blade went deep because you were so badly defended. I'm not as good a fighter as you, so I have to use other skills. And I know how to strike a death blow, probably better than you ever will. Because one strike is all it takes to kill someone when you know where you're hitting. The more you move, the more blood you will lose. And the quicker you will die."

He offered a smile, and Kai swallowed hard against the pain and the sudden dizziness of regaining his footing, seeing the flicker of fanaticism in his cousin's glittering gaze.

"For Uncle's justice and for the Clan's sake." Onoe said softly, advancing on his companion slowly as he did so. "This is the last time you'll see the stars."

* * *

The stars were somehow muffled that evening, glittering hazily in the indigo sky above the Academy building as the students settled themselves in their dormitories, restless at the early confinement and far from ready to go to bed. In the room belonging to the six boys from Class One, the mood was little different, for even those who did not know the reason behind Genryuusai's curfew decision could sense the tension that prickled through the summer night air.

"It's damn claustrophobic in here."

At length Enishi voiced the feelings of all of them, flopping down on his bunk as he folded his arms across his chest. "It's not like we're not in here every night, but usually someone has something to talk about – are we just going to sit here silent till someone comes and tells us to go to bed or what?"

"It's a funny night all round." Shunsui reflected, casting his big classmate a rueful look. "I'm sorry, Houjou. I guess sparkling wit and conversation is in short supply at the moment."

"That isn't the only thing which appears in short supply." Ryuu glanced up from the book he had been reading, fixing Shunsui with a piercing look. "Unless you hadn't noticed, this is a dorm for six people and yet it only seems to contain five at present."

"Shihouin-kun disappeared after dinner and I haven't seen him since." Juushirou sighed. "Just when I thought we were starting to communicate better as a class, he's sneaking off again. I can understand it…but even so…"

He faltered, and Ryuu pursed his lips.

"Even so, we are under order and he is breaking it in his usual, arrogant, Shihouin fashion." He said acidly. "He will be roundly punished if he is caught. And I for one have no intention of covering for him if Sensei wants to ask us his whereabouts."

"Telling tales isn't a nice habit, Ryuu-kun." Shunsui scolded lightly, and Ryuu shrugged his shoulders.

"He had no compunction about reporting on your absence in Kidou class at the start of the term." He responded evenly. "I see no reason why you would mind him being reported for similar inattention. After all…"

"After all, this is different." Juushirou sighed, sending Hirata a troubled look. "I know. It's bothering me that he's not here. That tonight of all nights…he's disappeared."

"But it's not surprising." Shunsui reflected. "Even if nobody told him directly, I'm sure he has the smarts to figure things out."

"You mean, I suppose, that that filthy Shadow Cat is coming here tonight to negotiate some kind of blood terms with the Headmaster so she doesn't get arrested for Aitori's murder." Ryuu said archly, and Juushirou and Hirata stared at him, a stricken expression crossing the younger boy's face.

At their glances, Ryuu snorted.

"You think it's a secret, but it isn't." He murmured. "You may not have told people, but it doesn't matter. I can sense her reiatsu, after all. Unlike other people, I am well acquainted with Kai and his whole family. Well acquainted. And I know the taint of Shadow Cat well."

"You really don't like them, do you?" Shunsui tut-tutted, and Ryuu shook his head.

"I do not like the Shihouin." He said frankly. "There is no reason needed other than that."

"But I bet there is one, and if you know his whole family I bet it has something to do with injured Clan pride." Shunsui rolled his eyes. "A failed marriage contract negotiation, was it? A slight by one against the other at a social event or important occasion? No, wait. Never mind. I don't need to know the details."

"Shihouin's sister is coming here? Tonight?" Enishi stared. "And you people knew about it? Even though she killed Aitori?"

"It's a very complicated situation." Shunsui shrugged his shoulders. "Though now she's here, I suppose it doesn't hurt to speak about it. I don't know what promises Juu and Hirata made or didn't make to keep things a secret, but I know Sensei told me this morning, when my brother was here. And he told me also that I wasn't to speak about it directly, so I haven't."

"But that's why you stopped being mad at Ukitake." Enishi pursed his lips. "How did I miss all of this?"

"Don't worry about it." Shunsui offered him a grin. "It's political wrangling, that's all. It doesn't concern us. That's why we've been locked away – so we don't interfere. Oniisama's here because of it, and he'll speak for the Kyouraku so…my interest in the whole thing has waned completely, if you want to know the truth."

"But it does concern Shihouin-kun." Juushirou said softly. "He's been worrying about Midori-sama a lot. And if he thought tonight he might see her, he'd surely break bounds and go looking for her."

"Probably. But all that will happen is that he'll get caught and sent back here under escort." Shunsui stretched out on his bunk. "Anideshi and the other seniors are prowling around the grounds like wildcats, after all."

"Are you sure about that?" Juushirou looked doubtful. "He's an assassin, isn't he? I mean, his people, they train for stealth. Surely he'd be able to slip the Seniors if he had to? If he really wanted to see her? Shihouin-ke seem to be good at suppressing reiatsu, after all."

"Perhaps." Shunsui acknowledged. "But he's probably not going to cause his own sister harm…so in the end it might not matter. Let them have their reunion, Juu-kun. He's been missing her, as you say. It might be what he needs, even if he gets punished for it in the long run."

Before anyone could respond, there was a knock on the door, and the partition slid back to reveal the anxious features of Kamitani Jun.

"Kamitani-kun!" Juushirou eyed him in confusion. "But why…what are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you." Kamitani looked troubled, glancing back into the corridor behind and then slipping into the dorm proper, shutting the door behind him. "And I don't want to get caught leaving the dorm, even if just to come here. I just wondered…I was looking for…"

He faltered, his gaze scanning the room as he slowly shook his head.

"I was looking for Shihouin." He admitted. "But he's not here either, is he?"

"Either?" Ryuu arched his eyebrow. "What are you talking about, Kamitani – who else might be absent? The rest of us are all here, as you see."

"Mm. I know." Kamitani shook his head again. "It's just that Onoe didn't come back to the dorm with us. He's been funny all day – actually, since the announcement about Aitori was first made. I thought…well, Aitori was his Uncle and I think they were quite close, so I expected him to react in some way or other. But he didn't…he hasn't said more than a couple of words about it. And then tonight he's disappeared. He left the Dining Hall early and nobody's seen him since. So I thought if Shihouin-kun was here, I might ask him. But he's not here either. Has something happened?"

"Onoe's missing too?" Shunsui's demeanour changed and he pulled himself into a sitting position. "And that's unusual, for him to take off on his own? Shihouin does it all the time, after all."

"Onoe's a hot-head and he has a big mouth, but he's not usually the type to disappear without good reason." Kamitani shook his head, casting Enishi an almost apologetic glance as he did so. "Even though he can be an idiot and shoot his mouth off, for the most part he acts logically and I can work out how he's thinking. But today he's been very strange. And now…gone."

"First Shihouin. Now Onoe. Tonight of all nights." Shunsui's brow knitted together, and Hirata bit his lip.

"Revenge." He murmured, and Kamitani shot him a startled look.

"Revenge?" He echoed, and Hirata blushed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Nothing." He said hurriedly, but Juushirou's expression had already become troubled and he got to his feet, grabbing his worn black cloak from its hook and flinging it over his shoulders.

"Juu?" Shunsui stared at him, and Juushirou met his gaze frankly.

"Hirata's probably right." He said. "And if he is, we can't just sit here and do nothing about it. Someone's going to get hurt if we do."

"So you're going to go and find Shihouin and Onoe and you're going to marshal the pair of them back to dorm on your own?" Ryuu blinked, and Juushirou shrugged.

"If I have to. It's better than not doing anything." He said evenly, and Shunsui sighed.

"You're not going anywhere alone." He said wearily, getting to his feet and grabbing his own cloak resignedly from its peg. "If Hirata is right, you won't be able to bring them back by yourself. We're talking hot headed proud Clan individuals, after all. Even if Shihouin has mellowed a little towards you of late, I doubt he'll be in a mood to listen tonight."

He cast the confused Kamitani a glance.

"It's all right, Jun-kun. Go back to your dorm." He added. "Juu and I will see to Onoe and Shihouin."

"Are you sure?" Kamitani hesitated, and Shunsui nodded.

"Leave it to us." He promised. "Go and tell your friends that, too. That we'll deal with it – you just stay where you are."

"All right. I'll tell them." Kamitani looked relieved. "Thank you, Kyouraku. Kira's already jittery about the fact Onoe's breaking curfew – he'll be happier knowing that someone's looking into it and there's no way Shihouin would take orders from anyone below his own class."

"Probably he won't take orders from us, either, but I'm game to try it." Shunsui grinned, and Kamitani tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement before withdrawing from the dorm.

"What if you get caught?" Hirata looked anxious, and Juushirou shrugged.

"Then we do." He said matter-of-factly. "Either way, I'm not sitting here and doing nothing. Not if it's how you think it is."

"I'm coming too, then." Hirata said immediately, moving to stand, but Shunsui shook his head.

"No matter how much you hate me for it, Hirata-chan, you're not coming." He said firmly, pushing the younger boy back onto his bed. "Your family situation is already tentative enough where the Shihouin are concerned and the less involved you are the better, right? Especially if you and Midori have already spoken – think about the political ramifications of it if nothing else. Your Clan has been slighted by the girl – how would it look if you were to openly get involved in a Shihouin incident without your Clan leader's say so?"

"But just the two of you?" Enishi looked doubtful. "Is that okay? Shihouin's stronger than both of you in Kenjitsu class."

"I don't think we're going to fight anyone." Juushirou shook his head. "And I don't think that's what Hirata meant. He meant that Onoe might go looking for Midori-sama and that might cause problems."

"And Shihouin might have gone looking for him, which will create even more." Shunsui added. "That was your thought, Hirata, wasn't it?"

"Mm." Hirata looked disheartened. "And I see your point. Maybe I shouldn't come – if I'll just get in the way."

"For now it's better that its two neutral people getting in the way." Juushirou said softly. "I have no Clan affiliations, even if I have spoken to Midori-sama, so there can't be any family repercussions if I do something. And Shunsui's people aren't involved with the Shihouin. Besides, Shihouin-kun seems to like Shunsui more than any of the rest of us."

"Well, _I_ won't be going." Ryuu said categorically, picking his book up once more with pointed exaggeration. "The squabbles of the Shihouin hold no interest for me at all. Try not to be foolish, either of you – assassins do not live by the same code of honour as the rest of us."

"We know. We weren't going to ask you." Shunsui shot him a wry smile. "We'd never dream of besmirching your Kuchiki pride with the idea of helping a Shihouin."

"So long as that's understood." Ryuu nodded his head, and Juushirou sighed.

"What about me?" Enishi asked, and Shunsui shook his head firmly.

"After the last time you and Onoe met gazes? Not a chance." He said frankly. "You stop here, okay? We don't want any fist fighting, after all."

"I wasn't going to hit anyone." Enishi coloured. "It was only because of what he said…"

"And he might say it again, or other things." Shunsui said, unmoved. "I mean it, Houjou. Juu and I will go. That's plenty. We're only going to act as an intervention. We're not going to get ourselves all bloody and beaten up like we did when we went chasing Hollows in the forest."

"Are we going out of the window?" Juushirou asked hesitantly, and Shunsui nodded.

"Seems easiest, if you don't mind. There won't be patrols there." He agreed, and Juushirou sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Whatever." He said resignedly. "I see your point, and I suppose if I've done it once, I can probably do it again."

"That's the spirit." Shunsui grinned at him, reaching across to open the window beside his bed. "Shut the window behind us, someone – we'll find another way back in and it'll be a problem if someone sees it and starts asking awkward questions."

He cast Juushirou a glance.

"Well? I can feel faint flickers of reiatsu on the wind – I'm guessing they're outside, so this will probably be quicker either way."

"I'm right behind you." Juushirou assured him, even as the older boy launched himself deftly over the sill, clambering down the vine-covered wall as though it was as easy as going down stairs. Juushirou's own descent was somewhat more cautious, yet he did not hesitate, and soon the two of them were on the ground below.

"Ukitake-kun!"

Even as they dusted themselves off from the climb, an anxious voice alerted them to the fact they had company, and both boys looked up to see Mitsuki hurrying across the grass, distress in her soft grey eyes.

"Ukitake-kun! Oh…are you going too? Did you feel them…are you coming to stop the fight too?"

"The fight?" As Mitsuki grasped hold of Juushirou's sleeves, he stared at her in confusion, taking in the urgency and panic in her gaze as her eyes met his. She was pleading with him, he realised, begging him for help even though she wasn't forming words, and despite himself a chill went down his spine.

"What is it?" He murmured softly, gently detaching her grip. "What did you feel this time, Edogawa-san?"

"Something nasty, no doubt." Shunsui's gaze darkened, and he glanced out across the forest beyond where they stood. "Calm down, Mitsuki-chan, and try and speak clearly. You shouldn't be out here and nor should we, so the less time we are the better."

"I know. I'm sorry." Mitsuki took a deep breath, closing her eyes momentarily as if steadying herself. "But I had to come. I couldn't…Sora told me to wait, she and Naoko were going to find Retsu-sama because I felt unwell and I was dizzy but…I couldn't stay up there. Not with it flaring across like it was. I was scared, and so I had to come. Even though they told me to wait behind."

"You're dizzy?" Juushirou eyed her sharply. "You do look pale, even in the moonlight. Maybe you should have listened to them, Edogawa-san – if you're feeling ill you shouldn't be running around the school."

"I'm not ill." Mitsuki shook her head, faint impatience in her tones, and at the uncharacteristic edge, both boys stared at her blankly. "It's Shihouin-kun and Onoe-kun. I came to help them. Because I could feel it…when the blade went in."

"Blade?" Now Shunsui's demeanour changed, and he grabbed the girl by the shoulders. "What blade? Mitsuki-chan, what are you talking about? One of them is armed…one of them is _hurting_ the other?"

"Shihouin-kun is in pain, because I can feel it resounding against my senses." Mitsuki's eyes swam with tears, and it was clear that the flickers of reiatsu dotting the horizon were causing her increasing distress. "I wanted to help him, but I don't…"

Shunsui swore under his breath.

"Hirata _was_ right." He muttered. "Onoe meant to hurt Midori, and Kai's cut him off. But Onoe came armed, and Kai wasn't prepared for that. And now Kai's been hurt – which means Onoe means business. He intends to avenge his Uncle's death irrespective of the Clan politics that caused it. Damn it, and I thought it wasn't a big deal, Shihouin going out into the night like this. Remind me to listen to Hirata more clearly in future, Juu. Sometimes when he says things, he's right on the ball."

"Midori-sama is already here, isn't she? Kuchiki-kun said so." Juushirou bit his lip. "What if she feels that her brother is hurt…? What if she gets angry with Onoe-kun? Right now nobody's been killed – right, Edogawa-san? Everyone is still alive? In which case we need to act before that changes."

Mitsuki took another deep breath, struggling to get a hold of herself, then,

"Shihouin-kun's injury is a bad one." She murmured. "Because I can feel it…seeping out of him. His strength and his life as well as his blood. But…but no. Nobody's been killed. Not yet."

"But Onoe's not really someone we should leave to finish the job, because he means business." Shunsui said grimly. "Okay. Mitsuki-chan, listen to me. In this state, you're only going to get yourself hurt. You've told us what's important, and now you need to do as Sora and Naoko told you and go back and rest. Or even better, go to find Unohana-sensei and speak to her directly. Tell her what you told us. She'll probably understand better than we can."

"What about you?" Mitsuki cast Juushirou an anxious glance, and Juushirou offered her a faint smile.

"We'll go and find them and stop them fighting." He said simply. "If Shihouin-kun's hurt, it'll probably be easier than if he wasn't – it's just a case of Onoe-kun, who both Shunsui and I can overpower if you go by our Ouyoudou rankings. Don't worry, Edogawa-san. We'll make sure nothing bad happens."

Relief flickered in Mitsuki's eyes, followed by gratitude, and she nodded her head.

"He's over that way." She said, pointing in the direction of the copse beyond the first row of trees. "They're trying to suppress their reiatsu so they're not caught but Shihouin-kun's pain waves are almost stifling me now – so I had to do something about it, since I didn't know if anyone else would."

"We're right on it." Shunsui assured her, grabbing Juushirou by the arm. "Come on, Juu. If it's like that, we need to act before Midori does. Just like you said."

Juushirou cast Mitsuki a last, anxious look, then nodded, and the two boys hurried through the school grounds, picking up more and more distinct traces of Shihouin reiatsu as they got closer and closer to the fight scene.

"Mitsuki was right. They are hiding. Like you said before, they're both naturally talented at suppressing their reiatsu from outsiders, even in the midst of a fight." Shunsui muttered. "But not at this range. I'm sure Midori can feel it, too – she must do, considering she's one of them."

"I can feel it too, now." Juushirou said apprehensively. "Shihouin-kun's reiatsu is scattered…and Onoe-kun's is flaring all over the place. I've never felt it like that in Kenjitsu class. Never."

"But there's never been an issue of revenge before." Shunsui said grimly. "Listen. The Shihouin cast their honour in blood. It's well known. Onoe's acting on that principle – to avenge his uncle he'll fight and he'll kill because he wants to defend that uncle's honour. Even if he's killing a kinsman in the process. And even if it gets him killed – to him, Aitori's honour is his honour and a crime against honour is a crime worth dying for. That's what his reiatsu is saying, even from this distance. Whereas Shihouin…"

"Shihouin-kun really did just go to meet his sister, didn't he?" Juushirou murmured. "Because he was worried about her."

"Probably." Shunsui agreed. "Either way, Onoe's armed and Shihouin isn't. Which means the first thing is disarming the brat and preventing any further damage. They may or may not have noticed us, Juu…we should split and take it from either angle."

"Shihouin-kun is more likely to listen to you than he is me." Juushirou reflected. "So you deal with him. Leave Onoe to me."

"But…"

"I don't need protecting, Shunsui-kun. I'm not feeble and I won't have you thinking I am."

"I wasn't." Shunsui looked rueful. "I just…Onoe really doesn't like you. Are you sure it's a good idea to antagonise him? Remember what Enishi did…what he said…"

"Yes. That's why you're going to leave him to me." A flicker of steeliness crossed Juushirou's usually genial hazel gaze. "I want to prove to him that he's underestimated me too. I have a little of that latent Kuchiki pride myself, you know – I'll make sure he sees for himself why I was ranked in Class One and why I'm bound to stay there no matter what."

Shunsui eyed him for a moment, then he smiled.

"If that's how you want it." He agreed. "Let's not waste any more time. If Mitsuki's right, the sooner we get in the middle of this the better."

With that he darted off through the trees, Juushirou slipping off in the other direction as the two boys surrounded the copse. As they did so, they could hear voices, and both could clearly make out their classmate and his cousin through the thick foliage of the trees.

"You really are a coward, Kai." That was Onoe, his voice seeming calm yet under the surface it was clear he was bubbling with indignant anger. "I thought you were a fighter, but all you do is combat for show, isn't it? After all this time, that's why Kamuki-sama never paid attention to you. Because at the end of the day, he knew you were a coward."

"I'm no coward." Kai's voice was hampered and tinged by pain, and as the two boys came into view both could see their classmate's bloodsoaked _hakama_, one hand clutched tightly to his midriff over a sheer tear in the once white fabric. His face, by contrast, had drained of colour, and it was clear even at a glance that while the boy was still on his feet, the wound he had suffered had been a deep one. "If I was, I would have run from you, or given in and let you have your way. But even if you have that knife, I won't let you pass. You're not going to make things worse by attacking Oneesama. You're an idiot if you don't realise how manipulated you're being – how manipulated we've both been. Even if the original orders came from Kamuki-jisama."

"Hideaki-jisama told me that if you quailed and ran from your duty, you were expendable. That order was from Kamuki-sama and he was right." Onoe snapped back, advancing once more on the boy, blood-specked blade raised as if to deliver another striking blow. "Ojisama isn't here to do it, but I will. I'm more than willing to do it, because that's what Shihouin do. You might carry the name but you don't understand that. You who had to be protected from your own Kenjitsu instructor by your precious older sister!"

"I wouldn't have thought Midori-dono was someone you'd want to cross too often yourself, Onoe-kun."

At that moment Shunsui made his presence known, stepping out into the copse, and Juushirou was not far behind him, glancing between the two Shihouin as he did so. At the sight of them, Kai's expression darkened, and he shook his head.

"I don't need your intervention. This is a Clan matter and has nothing to do with either of you." He said sharply. "Go back to the school and leave us be. Nobody asked you to intervene!"

"On the contrary, Mitsuki-chan and Kamitani-kun both asked us to." Shunsui said frankly. "And judging by the state of your clothing, Kai-kun, you could use a half time break, too. What about it, Onoe? Shall we drop the nice shiny toy and talk together like adults should?"

"Shut up, Kyouraku. This is no business of yours." Onoe snapped, his eyes narrowing. "This is Clan business, as Kai said. Shihouin matters have nothing to do with people from outside. Academy or no Academy."

His eyes narrowed as he gazed at Juushirou.

"And it has even less to do with_ you_." He said derisively. Juushirou's expression darkened, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"On the contrary." He said coldly. "I'm here on Shihouin-kun's behalf. Because this has more to do with me than you might think it does."

"Juu?" Shunsui shot him a doubtful look, and Juushirou smiled faintly.

"I gave Midori-sama my word to keep her whereabouts a secret." He murmured. "So I am her ally."

"Ukitake!" Kai stared at him, taken aback, and Onoe's eyes became near slits as he digested this information.

"Mongrels shouldn't get involved in matters pertaining to purebloods." He said coldly. "And especially ones like you, Ukitake Juushirou. Others might be fooled by you, but I'm not. I know why you're where you are and you don't scare me one bit. Allying with Midori? Don't make me laugh. Midori's a murderer and a traitor and the Clan will have her head – that's the reality of it."

A cold smile touched his lips.

"But surely you _know_ all that, and did it anyway." He murmured. "Since it's apparently no secret that Kai-kun's Father deals in illicit drug research. And _you _would have a vested interest, wouldn't you, in seeing that fall?"

"Onoe!" Shunsui's eyes opened wide at this, but Juushirou held up his hand to stop him from reacting.

"Shihouin-kun's hurt." He murmured. "Nothing else matters at the moment but making sure that wound doesn't get worse."

He frowned, turning his gaze back on the defiant Onoe.

"Take him to Unohana-sensei." He added softly. "Obviously Onoe-kun and I have a few things we need to level out, after all."

-----------

**Author's Note**  
_Apologies for the weird uploading scheduling this week - I've been in Denmark and so uploaded the last chapter later than usual. To make up for it though here's the next one - I'm told I usually upload on a Saturday, so voila, one chapter._

Some blood, as promised.


	28. District Pride

**Chapter Twenty Seven: District Pride**

For a moment there was silence in the school gardens, as the four students faced one another across the clearing. Shunsui frowned, his gaze flitting apprehensively between the still armed Onoe and his District born friend, taking in the tension that prickled through both of their auras. Onoe was close to breaking point, he realised – his anger and resentment having driven him to a barely concealed fever pitch that bordered on recklessness. And as for Juushirou…

His lip thinned, taking in the expression in the boy's hazel eyes.

_He does have pride. And fire to back that pride up. But I still want to stop him. Not because I think he'll hurt Onoe, or that Onoe will be able to hurt him. But because he might hurt himself the way he did when he came to help me. I can't help it – it's just how it is._

At that moment, there was a gasping noise from across the ground, and Shunsui swung round just in time to see Kai crumple to his knees, putting out his left hand to steady himself against the grass. In a moment Shunsui was jerked back to reality and he hurried across the grass, realising that Juushirou had been right and that right now the most important thing was preventing Kai's injury from being made worse.

"Why did you come here?" As he reached Kai's side, the injured boy sent him a wary look, his gold eyes clouded by pain and the haziness that came with loss of blood. "I didn't ask anyone to help me. Shihouin…die by honour, after all."

"Oh, shut up with all that claptrap nonsense." Shunsui told him sharply, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder as he ran his gaze over the red-soaked _hakama_. "If you're trying to come up with some noble last lines, give it a rest already, because I'm not planning on letting you expire here and nor is Juu. We're classmates, you idiot, not soldiers on a battlefield. And didn't you ever learn in all your Shihouin training that you don't take on an armed man unless you know you can take him down?"

"I didn't know…Tomoyuki was…armed." Kai's voice was weakening, and as Shunsui slipped an arm around his body to support him, he gave up the battle to keep himself upright. "Put me down, Kyouraku. It's humiliating…being rescued…by you."

"Gee, thanks a lot." Shunsui pretended to be hurt, keeping his tones light although he was alarmed at how much blood there seemed to be pooling at the scene. "And they said in the dorm that you like me better than anyone else…I guess they were well off the beat there, weren't they?"

Kai stared at him blankly, then shook his head.

"I mean…by Clan." He whispered. "Not…by kin."

A shudder ran through him, and he choked, closing his eyes as pain pierced through his body. Blood bubbled at his lips, and Shunsui sighed, inwardly making up his mind.

"It seems to be my year to have people coughing up blood all over me." He said resignedly. "I guess it must be something I give off in my aura – though there are better ways of showing your affection, Kai-kun."

Kai dragged a heavy breath into his lungs, and Shunsui frowned.

"You're struggling." He murmured softly. "So if you're having trouble breathing, we won't stick around here."

"But…Ukitake?" Kai shook his head, struggling to assert himself despite the severity of his condition. From the mess, Shunsui was almost sure that his companion's wound had struck through his gut and grazed his left lung – perhaps even punctured it. A little higher and Onoe might have found his cousin's heart – and Shunsui knew only too well that a blow to the heart was often fatal.

"Juu is fine. He doesn't need our help – certainly not yours, in this state." He said now, inwardly hoping that he was right. "You focus on choking or throwing up or fainting or whatever it is your body wants you to do, and leave everything else to other people. Because you might think that leaving you to die here is an honourable thing, but I don't. I don't believe in letting people who can be saved die. Because if they're dead, they can't ever make amends or change things or move forward. There's no glory in dying. Just a lot of mess and red tape. So you're not going to die now. Sorry if you thought you were. Instead you're coming with me."

He tightened his grip on his companion, closing his eyes as he focused on shifting their bodies through the streams of light and spirit energy that encircled Soul Society. As they did so, he was aware of his companion's rapid intake of breath, and he bit his lip, hoping against hope that his aim had been correct.

"What did you…how did you…that was sh..sh..shunpo!" As they re-materialised in the hall-way outside of the Healing Bay, Kai shot Shunsui a disbelieving look. "Or am I hallucinating now? But that was…"

"Shh." Shunsui shook his head. "It's not the time or place. Besides, you're damn heavy – heavier than Juu, even if you're not as tall as him. Did you think I was going to run with you in my arms or something?"

He grinned, more to give himself courage than for any other reason, for he could feel Kai's reiatsu fading beneath his touch.

"If you were your pretty sister, perhaps I'd consider it." He added playfully. "But I don't get quite the same thrill from lugging around sweaty, bloody males – if it's all the same to you."

"Shihouin-kun!" Mitsuki flung back the door of the Healing Bay before Kai could muster a response, and Shunsui almost cried out with relief as he saw the tall, reassuring figure of Unohana Retsu in his classmate's wake.

"Bring him inside, Kyouraku-kun." She said softly, her calm words soothing Shunsui's own anxiety and giving him a second wind. "You were very quick – I was about to come looking for you, when I felt you outside the door."

"He…sh…shun…" Kai murmured, but at the sight of authority his endurance had also faltered, and his words were blurry and indistinct as Shunsui carefully carried the barely conscious boy inside.

"He's only been hit once, but I think it was a proper attempt at killing him." He said quietly, laying him down on an empty bier. "Unohana-sensei, Juushirou's still out there and I don't want to leave him with a crazy Onoe and a knife if I don't have to. Someone needs to go back there…someone needs to make sure no one else gets hurt while Onoe's not acting in his right mind."

"I think you'll find your friend will be just fine." Retsu said softly, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder as she cast him a serene smile. "You've done plenty this evening, after all. Stay here, please. You and Mitsuki-san will be good company for Shihouin-kun, after all."

"But..."

"Have faith." Retsu's smile remained gentle, but there was something else in the depths of those eyes that made Shunsui think twice about arguing the point any further. "For now, our focus is on this wounded one here."

"He's passed out." Mitsuki reported from where she had begun flitting around Kai's still form like an anxious butterfly. "Retsu-sama…"

"It's all right. His wound is deep but it can be repaired and quite easily, too." Retsu assured her. "Calm yourself, Mitsuki-san. I know you feel his pain almost as much as he does – but it will soon be abated, and he'll rest more easily once I stop the blood flowing."

She gestured to the back room.

"Will you go and retrieve some water, please? Sensei asked that only I be here this evening, so none of the usual healing staff are on hand to help me. But if I have you two, I'm sure it will be fine – Kyouraku-kun, if you could unfasten Shihouin-kun's _obi,_ please, and loosen the shirt of his _hakama_? The wound appears to have gone in through the upper part of his stomach – through the diaphragm and pricked against the left lung. His breathing is steady, so far, but I want to act as quickly as possible to save him more discomfort than is necessary."

"Ye...yes, Sensei." As Mitsuki hurried off to do Retsu's bidding, Shunsui focused his attention on the task assigned him, forcing himself to concentrate even though he could feel Juushirou's reiatsu flickering at the back of his senses.

_Don't do anything reckless, Juu. Don't underestimate him just because he underestimated you. Onoe is Class Two but only because Houjou's built like a house and knows how to use it. He's not really lower than us – and right now he's not thinking like a sane, rational being, either. Don't do something to make all those little Ukitake-chibis cry – because I won't ever be able to face them if you do._

_

* * *

  
_

"Kai!"

As a flash of confused and garbled reiatsu shot through study, Midori froze, fear and dismay flooding her golden eyes as her gaze flitted to the window of the small chamber Genryuusai called his private work space. From his position beside his desk, Genryuusai eyed her thoughtfully, taking in the sudden, anguished tension that had rippled through her slight frame. She had humbled herself before him, dropping into the customary bow of the Shihouin Noble blood on greeting one they considered their senior, and yet in that moment he knew she was dying to leap to her feet, charge through the window and away to her brother's rescue.

He frowned, then slowly shook his head.

"Why have you truly come here, Midori?" He asked softly, and at the question, Midori started, staring at him blankly. Her earlier formality and composure had been shattered, he reflected, just in that one instant, and he pursed his lips, reminding himself of how young the woman who crouched before him truly was.

Young enough to love her family unreservedly, despite what they might put her through.

"You came to speak to me on Clan business. I am willing to hear your words." He said quietly. "Is that still your intention? Or have your impulses changed, because silly boys have chosen to blood Clan pride without any thought to the consequences it might cause?"

"You...you feel it too?" Midori swallowed, then seemed to gather her wits, shaking her head as if to clear it. "Of course you do. My apologies, Genryuusai-sama. I...I promised myself to come here with the good of my Clan in my thoughts, but my brother...it seems I find it harder to leave him in danger than I thought."

"Your brother must learn to face the consequences of his actions, I think." Genryuusai said evenly. "I have no power to keep you here, Midori. If you want to go and help him, be my guest. But I will not admit you to my chamber a second time. This District has already been turned upside-down in one way or another by our neighbours from the East. Meeting with you is my last indulgence of Shihouin whims, after all - I have all the evidence I need to raise matters before the Council, and I have every intention of doing just that if our conversation does not reach a suitable conclusion this evening."

His eyes narrowed.

"You have come here claiming your right to take over District Two as the Shadow Cat of the Shihouin." He added. "Now is the moment when you prove it to me. I will not, after all, endorse a weak person to take control of a neighbouring division. And my Clan will not act decisively without consulting me on my position first."

Midori's gaze flitted back to the window, and she bit her lip.

"What you say is true." She murmured. "You have done me a great favour by agreeing to speak to me, especially when I have already caused a good deal of chaos in your domain. You are right, Genryuusai-sama. For a moment I let my convictions waver. But I told myself when I left District Seven that even if it put Kai in danger, I would do this. Because it was the only thing I could do for the Shihouin-ke. And that, right now, has to matter more. No matter how difficult it is. Please, forgive my distraction. I will not hesitate a second time."

Even as she spoke, Genryuusai saw the faint glitter of tears in her golden eyes, and his stern expression relaxed slightly. He reached a wizened hand out to touch her shoulder.

"Your brother requires the chance to prove himself as much as you do." He said quietly. "And not just him, perhaps. It is not a pleasant turn of affairs, Midori...and I do not seek to encourage such fighting on school grounds. But this is bad blood founded in the problems of your Clan. Once it is out in the open, it can clearly be dealt with. And besides..."

He pursed his lips beneath his heavy white moustache, then nodded.

"It seems that the ethics of teamwork that I have attempted to teach those children are paying off, at least to some degree." He said simply. "I will let them deal with it, this time. If there are casualties, then I will handle the aftermath. But my students cannot be young peacocks strutting pride without any substance. I want them to understand as soon as possible what kind of world they're training to face. Aitori's death has only heightened in my mind the need for that understanding. I will not interfere."

Midori took a deep breath, then nodded her head.

"It is a violent world." She admitted. "And I'm a part of that world too, I know. I have no regret for the death of Aitori Hideaki, Genryuusai-sama. I am sorry for the inconvenience it's caused you, dealing with such a grisly event so close to your school here. But the act itself was necessary Shihouin justice. If I was wrong, I will no doubt pay for it when it comes to facing my Clan themselves."

"Your Uncle's position is a serious one, my child. You realise it too, don't you? How far it has gone."

"Yes. I know." Midori nodded, running her fingers through her thick violet hair agitatedly as she nodded her head. "Father's too, and my brother's and cousin's. It's a hopeless mess, really, all stemming out of the fear of another civil conflict within the District and the Clan. I have the only other option - being the Shadow Cat means I can claim power without being the next in line to the Clan leadership. I'm of age, and I have a _zanpakutou _so am able to defend my claim as a leader should."

"Then why do you need my support?"

"Because it must come before the Council." Midori looked troubled. "And they may not accept me, even if my own people will. Also, though, you have evidence that could break down District Two before I even have a chance to claim the seal and take charge. If it was to happen, that Kamuki-jisama was arrested before I'd managed that..."

"District Two would become forfeit to the Council of Elders, and therefore would be carved into pieces shared among other Clans for overlordship." Genryuusai said softly. "Your own family would be crushed and humiliated, subservient and powerless to these encroaching protectors. Your Uncle, and quite probably your Father and brother as well - even your young cousin - may face death for their crimes against Council law. And you..."

"May be forced to complete my wedding contract with a Clan I have no interest in allying with." Midori's voice shook slightly at this moment. "As for Kai, I don't know what would happen to him. He's young and stupid still, really - idealistic but he's not as ruthless as he'd like to believe he could be. I'm afraid for my family's future - for all of our futures - and this is the only solution I could find. Killing Aitori was necessary because he was drawing attention to my Father with his actions. Killing him also meant people would focus on that and not so much on District Two. But even so...even so..."

She trailed off, and Genryuusai eyed her through slitted lids.

"Kyouraku Tokutarou is inclined to support you, if you make a claim for the leadership of the Shihouin. He does not want to see a protectorship." He said quietly, and Midori started, staring at him in surprise.

"Tokutarou-sama? But...?"

"He's here in District One to visit his brother, and I have discussed the matter with him, to see where he would stand on such issues." Genryuusai continued evenly. "He had concerns, after all, that he'd received reports of your transit across District Eight."

"He knew, yet he didn't apprehend me." Midori murmured. "And now he would _support_ me? Genryuusai-sama, are you...quite sure?"

"Quite sure, though no doubt you will be able to discuss it with him yourself at some more convenient point." Genryuusai agreed. "As for myself..."

He paused, then sighed.

"I do not like Clan killings on Yamamoto land." He said frankly. "Nor do I like flagrant breaches of important Council law - breaches which lead to an innocent town girl being murdered and to others like her being targeted and warped by the overspill of Clan ego. I do not know, nor do I care, whose fault that situation truly is. What I care about is the quick resolution of all of it, because this world has far bigger troubles to face than the problems of internal Clan strife. For that reason, I'm not sure how best to answer you. Your intentions I believe - and your reasoning is sound. But even so...this is a weighty crime."

Midori bit her lip, and Genryuusai saw her gaze dart briefly to the window once more, as if trying to locate the reiatsu of her young brother a second time. He was no longer out there, Genryuusai knew, for he had already sensed the distinctive flow of Retsu's gentle Kidou magic as she prepared to heal his young form. He was in the best hands he could be in, now. As for the severity of his injury, only time would tell how deep his scars would run.

_  
Probably not as deep as his Clan ones, when all is said and done._

"I don't want to see his potential wasted, either." He said aloud now, and she started, eying him disconcertedly. "Yes, I do mean your brother. Your mind is still on him - and even though you stand before me as a future Clan leader, you still worry about him as your blood kin. Don't you?"

"I suppose I can't help it." Midori looked ashamed. "He's hurt, after all. Badly, I think. Genryuusai-sama..."

"I told you already that you shouldn't worry. Your brother has guardian angels aplenty, it seems." Genryuusai said softly. "He is a good student, if led badly in many ways. He has been under unreasonable pressure, and it has alienated him from his classmates and his own sense of self. Your solution may well improve that fact - I don't know that for sure. What I do care about is producing a strong and capable Shinigami who will one day be able to play his part in the saving of Soul Society. I wanted to see how he would act tonight, and now I am satisfied. Regardless of his reasons for coming here, or what happens from now on in District Two, I believe him to be a student worth keeping. But that aside..."

He paused, then smiled slightly.

"I will give you forty eight hours." He murmured. "To return to your District and convince your people of your aims. I will withold the evidence I have for that time - but I will not be lenient once the deadline has passed. I will pass the documentation to the representatives of Council justice and I will pass them to my own people here in District One. If you are too late, then it will be your problem to resolve."

His thick brows drew together.

"On the understanding that no more people meet Akekage's fury here in District One." He added pointedly.

Midori stared at him for a moment, then resolution and gratitude glittered in her golden eyes.

"That is all I ask, and more than I hoped for." She said gravely, bowing her head towards him as she did so. "I can do that, Genryuusai-sama, and I wholeheartedly accept your terms. When my Uncle realises the severity of the situation and the evidence you have from Aitori's house, then he will see my way of thinking and understand what must be done. He is Shihouin, in the end. He will do his duty just as I must. As for killing..."

She paused for a moment, pursing her lips.

"I have already given my word to two of your students that I will not take any more lives." She murmured. "Though somehow I think...you're not surprised, are you, to hear that?"

"No. I'm not surprised." Genryuusai shook his head. "This year's new intake are an enterprising group, and fond of poking their noses into business that is not theirs. Still, if they managed to elicit such a promise from a Shihouin..."

He smiled slightly.

"I wonder, perhaps, if Ukitake Juushirou had some involvement in this." He murmured, and Midori looked surprised, nodding her head.

"He is District - blatantly so, in all respects." She agreed. "But I like him, Genryuusai-sama. I like his strength and his honour. He holds himself as a Noble should hold himself, and there is pride in his eyes when he looks at you. When he speaks, he speaks his mind...even if society should curb his tongue, he still speaks. And I like to hear him speak. Because I think...I understand now. For the first time...what it means, this Academy of yours. Why things are changing, and how."

She glanced at her fingers.

"Fear has been my family's enemy, and it is of their own making, not of yours or of boys like him." She added. "Until I left District Seven, I didn't fully appreciate that fact. But my one ally during this whole business has been a young District girl who has proven herself more than loyal even despite the fact our acquaintance has been brief. Her actions and the Ukitake boy's words have made me think very much, these last days. So long as I can take control of the Clan, Genryuusai-sama, I intend to change things in District Two. The Shihouin will no longer stand in opposition to your Academy. On the contrary, I want to seek out what talent I can within our land and nurture it."

She laughed feebly.

"The Ukitake boy said I needed to listen to the people of District Two if I was to be truly accepted as their leader." She added. "It sounds like a ridiculous thing for a boy like him to say to a Noble princess, yet he said it anyway, with all seriousness in his eyes. And he's right. That's the true stupidity of it. He's right."

Genryuusai's features softened at this, and he smiled.

"I am glad to hear you speak like that." He admitted. "And if you continue in that vein, Midori, you will find you have more support than you realised."

He let out his breath in a heavy sigh.

"Bringing Ukitake Juushirou here was always a gamble, knowing that his reiatsu and potential would match him with Noble-born sons and hoping that he would find a way to settle in this environment. He has something very special in his aura, Midori - something you may or may not have noticed, but something which gave me a lot of hope the first time I met him. It's a strong belief in principle and justice - a strength that hasn't been waylaid as he's grown and more, has been encouraged. Even at his level of birth, he has been taught to think. And, it seems, to reason those thoughts out into a logical conclusion. To my mind, that is the kind of individual Soul Society needs most of all. Not rich princes and princesses in fine clothing who have very little sense but who have taken Shinigami positions on account of their birthright. People who work hard and prove their worth through that work. Ukitake is only the first...he and his District classmates will help to forge a new Seireitei. Having heard you speak, it seems he's already begun trying - even if he hasn't realised it himself yet."

"As I said, I like him." Midori agreed. "And I've become interested, now, in seeing what kind of future it is you seek to create. And, with luck, seeing the Shihouin play a part in that future too."

She took a deep breath, then,

"I must be selfish and ask one other thing, though." She admitted. "Kai...please, Genryuusai-sama. My brother..."

"As I told you, Kai must learn from his own mistakes and grow up through them, taking his scars as they come." Genryuusai said quietly. "Onoe Tomoyuki, also. Tonight is a test of faith and loyalty for my newest students, it seems. As I said, for better or worse, this time I will not interfere. I have faith that all will be well - and if it is not, then lessons will be learnt from why it is not. There is, after all, no better way to prepare them for conflict than allowing them to see it first hand. I believe your brother did not leave his dorm tonight with evil intentions – I suspect he did so in order to see you more than any other reason, and that impulse I understand. Yet he also broke rules to do it – he made a decision and he must learn the weight of it for himself."

"Perhaps that's true." Midori pursed her lips, then, "But I told him that I would explain and it seems I won't have time to do so. Will you let me borrow paper and ink, and leave a message with you to give him? The contents will not be secret – I just want to keep my word and reassure him as best I can. Will you allow me that, at least, if nothing else?"

"I will." Genryuusai offered her a smile, gesturing for her to take a seat. "And while you are composing such a note, I will send a message to Tokutarou-dono that you wish you speak to him face to face before you leave this place and make your preparations to go East. I think to know clearly his opinions before you go may be of benefit to you, after all - seeing as the Council will have to ratify your position even in the midst of all this chaos."

Midori was silent for a moment, then she sighed, bowing her head once more before him as relief and hope mingled in her golden eyes.

"Yes, Genryuusai-sama." She murmured. "I understand."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the blood-spattered clearing, Juushirou and Onoe stood a few feet apart, each seemingly caught in a stalemate as they waited for the other to make the first move. Tension was still coursing through Onoe's broad frame, yet even as he knew he could not take his companion lightly, Juushirou found his mind straying away from the potential conflict and on to another, more startling realisation.

It had been only a matter of minutes since Shunsui and Kai had left the area, and inwardly Juushirou was still reeling from the revelation of yet another of Shunsui's hidden talents. One moment they had been there, the next not, and even though Juushirou had never clearly seen it before, he had known that this was shunpo.

The technique which, at the start of term, the unfortunate Aitori had catagorically told them was impossible for first years to learn.

_Shunsui really is full of surprises. That's another one he's kept under his hat - when did he learn to do that? Did he always know how to do it? Or was it just a spur of the moment thing, because Shihouin-kun was in trouble?_

He frowned, his gaze flitting to the glinting weapon still clutched in Onoe's hands.

_  
Come to think of it, when we were stranded out in the forest that night, we did get to that cave pretty quickly. I thought it was because I passed out, but thinking about it...did Shunsui really carry me all that distance? I'd have been a dead weight for him. Did he do that? Or...something else?_

"Well, District Boy?" At his hesitation, Onoe tapped his foot mock-impatiently, taunting his companion and Juushirou pushed the thoughts aside, turning his attention back to the matter at hand. "Why are you spacing out over there? Didn't you say we had some business to settle? Or are you a coward too, in the end? Have you realised that you're no match for me with all my years of Shihouin training?"

"Far from it." Juushirou gathered his wits, offering his companion a cool smile. "I was more concerned with your cousin's injury. You don't scare me a whole lot, to be honest, Onoe-kun. Even with that knife in your hand - I'm pretty sure I'm not going to let you take me off guard the way you took Shihouin-kun."

"Kai's an idiot and he's gone soft." Onoe murmured. "But I won't expect you to understand that. It's no use, Ukitake. Even if your friends don't see it, I do. It's been obvious for a long time. My family has specialist knowledge, after all, of the illicit chemicals that people use to enhance their power. And _you_ are a freak in that department."

He frowned, slowly advancing on his companion step by step, the dagger clasped tightly between the blood-flecked fingers of his right hand.

"You were born nowhere, with no kin of note and no reason to be anything other than another low level drudge propping up society." He said blackly, reaching out to grasp the folds of Juushirou's _hakama_ as he drew himself closer to his foe's body. "Yet you appear here like some genius out of obscurity, and expect us to take you seriously as though you were one of us. You play nice and sweet-talk everyone around you, but I've felt the flares of your reiatsu and I've felt how raw and dark it is. And you act like you take Genryuusai-sensei's rules seriously, yet you choke and cough and spew up blood just like an addict who can't get more of what he needs in time to fix his ailing body. You know what that stuff does to you, in the end? It causes madness. It drives your soul back on itself and makes you lose any grip you ever had on the real world. It will kill you, in the end. That's what those chemicals can do."

"I appreciate your concern, Onoe-kun, but it's quite misplaced." Juushirou's brows knitted together, and there was an icy edge to his tones as he swiped the boy's clawed fingers away, taking a step back out of his immediate reach. "Because I've never even seen these chemicals, let alone ingested any. Till I came here, I didn't know they existed. And as for my ill health - which is really none of your business - I was born with a lung condition called Haibyou. It's not a common condition, and in the Clans it no longer seems to exist. But it has nothing to do with breaking any rules. I don't cheat. I never have."

"Do you expect me to believe you?" Onoe snorted. "I told you. I'm not as foolish as your classmates are."

"Seems to me that you're more so." Juushirou's eyes narrowed as his gaze darted between Onoe and the knife, seeing that the young Shihouin had shifted his stance, preparing to launch a direct attack, blade drawn with the blade tilted towards his fellow student's torso. Although Juushirou knew he was ranked more highly than Onoe, he had also seen the flickers of irrationality in the boy's golden eyes and the wild pulsing of his companion's aura, and he knew that this was not going to be settled easily. Onoe was armed, after all, and clearly hyped up enough in his current agitated state to use that weapon without a thought to the consequences. He had already landed what could possibly still be a fatal blow on his own cousin, so Juushirou knew there was no chance of someone like him managing to talk the boy down peacefully.

Not that, if he was honest with himself, he really felt like negotiating with someone who had slighted his family and his pride so derisively.

_In which case, I'll have to do it another way. And since I've no intention of getting stabbed, I guess that means dealing with the dagger first of all._

He set his teeth, making up his mind.

_I'm glad, in a way, that Shunsui isn't here. That way I have to do it myself, and I will. Because I can. And he'd be surprised, I think, too. Maybe he has things like shunpo that he can use as a trump card, but I have my own skills too. And I've no intention of giving up, just because the one opposing me was born Clan._

His eyes narrowed.

_I made myself Midori-sama's ally, knowing she'd killed Aitori. I took that judgement and I stand by it. This is part of that, and I'll prove I can make my own decisions. This is one I'm going to see through to the end._

"Do you really think I'm going to take seriously anything said by someone like you?" Onoe was scathing, and Juushirou frowned, a look of annoyance touching his normally open hazel eyes.

"I suppose I'll just have to prove it to you my way, won't I?" He said softly. "That I've as much right to be here as anyone, and that it has nothing to do with breaking the rules."

As the other boy lunged towards him, Juushirou darted forward, shifting nimbly into the direct path of the blade as it came at him with speed and force. Then, as it seemed that Onoe was going to land a dangerous blow, he feinted to the side, reaching out his right hand and grasping Onoe's own tightly around the wrist. Onoe let out an exclamation, struggling to pull his hand free, but Juushirou's grip was like a vice and he tightened it even further, twisting his opponent's fighting arm back towards the boy's own body without a flicker of either hesitation or mercy.

"Playing with weapons isn't allowed on school grounds." He murmured. "First years aren't allowed to carry blades. And as for what you did to Shihouin-kun - do you expect me to just let you carry on when you do something like that to your own flesh and blood?"

A little more pressure at that angle, he knew, and the bone would likely snap, yet though Onoe's features flashed with pain, he did not cry out, his gold eyes simply darkening with rage and hatred as he glared at his companion.

_Not that I want to break his arm. But that's up to him, in the end, not me. If he fights my grip, I'll keep tightening it. A broken forearm isn't a fatal injury, after all - and if it takes that to disarm him, then I'll do it. _

_  
_He smiled grimly, no humour reflecting in his gaze at another thought crossed his mind.

_  
It is a good thing, then, that Shunsui's not here. I don't think he'd entirely approve, if he knew I was thinking that way. Well, maybe in the end I'm keeping secrets too - I understand his philosophy about violence, but I'm really not afraid to use it if it comes to a situation where I have to. I guess I'm not one who stands back, Shunsui-kun. For better or worse, I'm one who gets involved._

"Let me go, you peasant." Onoe growled, struggling valiently against the grip, and Juushirou felt a flare of fresh strength wash through his opponent's already jagged reiatsu, as his foe gathered his spirit power ready to launch some kind of counter-attack. As his fingers loosened slightly around Onoe's wrist, he bit his lip, his gaze darting across to the tree that stood a matter of a couple of feet away from them.

"You let the blade go first." He said frankly, reaching out his left hand and giving the startled Onoe a firm shove up against the trunk, the impact knocking the blade free from the other boy's unprepared grip. It embedded itself in the root of the tree, and Juushirou's lips thinned as he said an inward, fleeting apology to the sturdy lifeform which had once more become his ally.

_But he's dangerous like this, and I have to stop him. I have to stop him, no matter what._

"You underestimate me, don't you?" He said aloud, meeting his foe's gaze head on as he did so. "I don't mind if you do. You can think what you like about me, and I can live with it quite happily. But just because I go out of my way to be friendly to people doesn't mean I'm foolish and easily deceived. And it certainly doesn't mean I'm hiding something of the level you imply. I _won't_ have you questioning my ethics in that way. My power came from my parents, who raised me and loved me and taught me all the things I needed to know to be here now. I won't accept your slight against them, Onoe-kun. So I suggest you take it back. Because I don't want to fight you this evening. But not wanting to and not being able to are two separate things."

"People like you don't have honour to defend." Onoe retorted, finally wrenching himself free from Juushirou's grip and lunging for the other boy's throat. As he did so, he swung his body into his opponent's, using his superior physical size to knock his companion to the ground, and Juushirou fell heavily against the grass, momentarily winded by the shock of the tumble. He coughed, as his abused chest protested at the sudden jarring movement and the sharp gasp of air the fall had caused him to instinctively draw into his lungs.

Onoe was heavy - broader of shoulder and torso than Kai and there was a fixed resolution in his golden eyes as he pinioned his opponent to the ground, blooded fingers reaching up to Juushirou's throat once more as he moved his knees to prevent the District boy from kicking easily out of his hold. His hands pressed beneath the force of Onoe's weight, Juushirou could not reach up to grab his companion's body or hair, and a glitter of triumph flared in the other boy's assassin's gaze.

"What was that about being able to fight me?" He hissed, and Juushirou could feel the hot air of his breath against his ear as his foe lowered his head, sending him a derisive look as he stretched his fingers out across the pale flesh of Juushirou's throat. "With one quick move I can snap your neck several different ways - do you understand now? I'm a Shihouin. We're trained from infancy to take out those who are in the way of our family's objectives. Whatever the secret of your power, you can't move against me now. You might have disarmed me, but I don't need a blade to dispatch you. And whilst I was willing to give Kai the honour of a soldier's death, simply crushing your windpipe is sufficient for a District mongrel speaking and acting way above his social class."

Juushirou stared at him for a moment, then he gathered his wits, drawing his brows together as he assessed his position. Onoe was leaning his upper body against him now, pressing on his ribs, and he knew that if he didn't do something quickly he would spasm and cough, rendering himself practically incapable of launching any kind of counter-attack. The cold, coarse touch of Onoe's fingers against his skin sent an involuntary shiver through his senses, and from somewhere deep inside his consciousness, he thought he heard the brief sound of waves swishing softly against some unseen shore.

Waves. The Sea. District Six. His family. Everyone back home who was counting on him.

Juushirou focused his thoughts, allowing the images of his family to flood his mind.

_I'm not going to give in to a bigoted idiot, who thinks it's fine to kill whoever he pleases just because of some blood promise. I'm not that weak. I told Shunsui I didn't need protecting, yet even so I've let myself be taken off guard by a trained assassin. That's unforgivable, Juushirou - you're second, after all. You rank above this one. And you are __**not**__ going to let him beat you._

With that he felt the barriers on his spirit power dropping, and as his reiatsu swirled inside of him, he struggled to bring his fingers an inch or two closer together. At first it seemed impossible, but eventually he felt the skin brush together, and as Onoe's hands tightened around his throat, he drew on everything he had learnt in Kidou class, muttering the words of a spell under his breath as he hoped he would be able to complete it before he either spasmed or passed out from lack of air. His head was becoming hazy, and the waves were becoming more and more distinct, yet he stubbornly clung to consciousness, determined that he would not let himself either be killed or rescued from his predicament.

_I'm fighting someone not in their wits. That makes him strong, but it also makes him weak. And I'm going to exploit that. This isn't over. Even if he thinks it is._

"_Hadou no ichi - Shou_!" He gasped out, even as his palms began to burn with energy, and as a flare of spiritual electricity prickled across the forest's atmosphere, Onoe was thrust back from his prisoner, letting out a yell of surprise as he was flung a good two or three metres across the grass. Juushirou took a shaky breath of air into his beaten lungs, pulling himself into a sitting position as he saw his opponent already getting to his feet, anger prickling from his aura as he rounded on the other boy once again.

"What the _hell_ was that?" He demanded, and Juushirou held up his still glittering hands, putting a tentative finger to his throat. It might be bruised in the morning, he realised, but no real damage had been done, and he found himself valuing each intake of sweet night air as it flowed into his lungs, calming the raw power of his reiatsu and lulling back into its dormant state.

"Kidou." He said now, his voice slightly hoarse from the pressure of Onoe's grasping fingers. Yet despite this he knew he had successfully used the spell without unleashing enough spirit power to sear his lungs and a flicker of pride stirred in his heart at the realisation.

_Thank you, Kazoe-sensei. Thanks to your classes and advice, I think I'm really getting the hang of it now. I really will be able to use these spells to protect and fight without putting my own life in jeopardy._

"_Hadou no ichi. Shou_." He continued aloud, meeting Onoe's gaze with a flat one of his own. "Perhaps you should look it up, if you don't know what it is. I just don't feel like being strangled, that's all. So I got rid of you. Do you have a problem with that?"

"You didn't learn that in Kidou class." Onoe launched himself forward again, but Juushirou was ready for him this time and he met his foe's hands with his as they grappled for control. "Why would a sickly runt like _you_ be able to do a spell like that?"

"At the start of term, Kazoe-sensei gave me a book to read." Juushirou's eyes narrowed as he summoned his own strength, pushing the other boy back away from him. "At the back there are a few spells and I read them. I'm good at Kidou, after all, and I asked Sensei if I might try one or two of them out in practical class, seeing as I've mastered the two we've been studying up till now. He said yes. That was one of them."

His eyes narrowed.

"Top Class Kidou is probably more advanced than what _you're_ used to, in any case." He said coldly, light glimmering and flaring from around his body as his spirit power surged through his limbs, adding fuel to his own anger and forcing Onoe further and further onto the back foot. "But even though I only rank second in terms of overall rankings, Onoe-kun, I rank top in Kidou. Top over _everyone_ else in our year. And that's because I remember the spells and how to fire them...just so I can use them in situations like this."

He gave the other boy a tremendous shove up against the ancient trunk of the tree once more, and this time Onoe's head bounced against the hard surface with a sickening crack, sending flickers of pain and confusion through the boy's gaze. Juushirou had no intention of letting his guard down, however, this time slipping thin, pale fingers around each of Onoe's wrists as he pinned his companion firmly against the uneven surface of the wood.

"I'm also a lot stronger than people seem to realise." He said, as the haze of concussion and shock began to flood Onoe's golden gaze. "Because even though I look like this, and even though I'm not always well, I can fight my corner. And when it comes to something like this, Onoe-kun...I do. You already hurt Shihouin-kun, but you're not going to hurt me. I'm not that easy to take down, and I don't let myself be beaten by people who consider the lives of their kin and schoolmates expendable commodities."

"Ukitake! Onoe!"

At that moment, a fresh voice interrupted the conflict, and Juushirou frowned, not releasing his hold as his gaze flitted across the grass to where a tall, lean shape had just appeared between the trees.

"Anideshi." He murmured, and Yunosuke hurried forward, a frown crossing his face as he crossed the ground towards them.

"What in hell's name are you doing?" He demanded. "Why did I feel someone releasing Kidou...what's going on here? Ukitake...Onoe...you should both be inside! What..."

"Onoe-kun has rather lost his wits, Anideshi." Ukitake did not falter from his hold for one moment. "So forgive me for not letting him go right away. You can punish me if you want to, because I was the one who fired the Kidou you sensed and I realise I'm in breach of rules doing so without supervision. But it was only to stop him from doing something he'd probably regret."

"Ukitake..." Yunosuke stared at the first year student, clearly taken aback by the calm steeliness of the boy's simple, honest response. "Would you mind explaining what on earth you mean?"

"Yunosuke." From behind him, out of Juushirou's line of sight came the voice of his classmate, Unohana Madeki. "I think you should look at this."

"Look at what?" Yunosuke turned, and out of the corner of his eye Juushirou caught the faintest glitter of moonlight dancing off Onoe's Shihouin blade. At the sight of it, the senior's brow creased in consternation.

"I see." He murmured. "Very well. Ukitake, I think I understand. You may let Onoe go. I will take things from here."

"Yes, Anideshi." As the tall, lanky student came to take Onoe firmly in his grip, Juushirou released his own grasp, stepping back and taking a deep breath into his lungs as the adrenalin rushed out of him.

"There's blood on the blade, and on the grass, Yunosuke." Madeki said gravely, casting Juushirou an anxious look. "Are you hurt, Ukitake?"

"No. Not me." Juushirou fought the urge to cough, shaking his head. "Onoe-kun and Shihouin-kun had an argument, and Shunsui and I stumbled into it. Shunsui took Shihouin-kun to the Healing Bay, but someone had to do something about Onoe-kun, so...I..."

"You disarmed him." Yunosuke said softly. "That was dangerous, kid. You could've been hurt."

Juushirou paused for a moment, then shook his head.

"No. I wasn't going to let him hurt me." He said frankly. "He said some things about my family and I, and I didn't like it. So I thought that I'd show him instead, that I could deal with him without hurting him in the way he hurt Shihouin-kun. And that meant not letting him take me down, no matter what kind of weapon he had."

"Let me go! I'm not done fighting with him yet!" As if awoken from his daze by Juushirou's words, Onoe made a desperate attempt to lunge free of Yunosuke's grasp, but the senior's grip was firm and unyielding, and as frustration washed through the Shihouin boy's battered body, he sent Juushirou a look of pure venom, spitting pointedly in the other's direction.

"I know what you are." He hissed. "If you think you'll be accepted just because you've got Genryuusai-sensei and his Academy on your side...Soul Society is a big place, and this is only one little part of District One. If you think anyone will ever accept someone like you as our equal...you'll find out the hard way just how much people like you aren't wanted or needed in Seireitei."

Juushirou's eyes narrowed, and he gazed at Onoe coldly.

"I'm not afraid of you." He said softly. "And that's not the way someone who's just been beaten by a _mere District boy_ should act. I was told Nobles were gracious and honourable in defeat, but you seem to have abandoned all your Noble principles this evening, Onoe-kun. _All_ of them."

As he spoke, he felt his reiatsu flickering still inside of him, and Madeki put his hand gently on the boy's shoulder, even as Yunosuke swept his hand deftly across the back of Onoe's head, efficiently rendering the boy unconscious.

"Enough." The Unohana said softly. "The fight is over. Whatever he said or did, it's done with now. You shouldn't be here and nor should he, but in the circumstances I don't suppose too much will be said about your involvement. It's quite clear where the blame lies, so you should calm yourself. Let Yunosuke and I handle Onoe, now."

Juushirou took a deep breath, then, slowly, he bowed his head to acknowledge his senior's words.

"Yes, senpai." He murmured, then, "Please...may I go to the Healing Bay? I'm not hurt, but...but I am worried about Shihouin-kun. His injury seemed to be quite deep, after all, and there was a lot of blood."

"I didn't know you kids were such good friends." Yunosuke was startled, and Juushirou shook his head.

"Not exactly, but we are classmates." He responded. "Please, Anideshi. Would it be all right?"

Yunosuke sighed, then nodded his head.

"You look a little rough round the edges yourself, so it wouldn't hurt." He acknowledged. "All right. Madeki, I'll take this hot-headed idiot and lock him in confinement till he sobers up and calms down. Then we'll talk to him, and find out the whole story for ourselves. Will you go report to Sensei what's occurred? No doubt he already knows, but even so..."

"With pleasure." Madeki agreed, disappearing in a flash, and Juushirou stared at Yunosuke in confusion.

"Already knows? But...he knew there was trouble? And he didn't..."

"Sensei believes in students learning for themselves exactly what they're here to defend." Yunosuke said quietly. "You'll realise that, Ukitake, the longer you're here. It's not about teaching you to be protected and sheltered and always guided. You have to fight, in the world you're training to protect. Things like this are only small steps on that path. Do you understand? If Sensei had intervened, after all, you'd always look to him to intervene. And one day you'll have to make your own decisions...life and death ones, maybe."

Juushirou glanced at Onoe's still body, then he sighed, nodding his head.

"I understand." He murmured. "I wouldn't have fired Kidou if someone had come and rescued me. And I wouldn't know that, even in that situation, I could use that spell and use it right. But it seems a harsh way of teaching a lesson, even if it's an important one. Someone might have died tonight. Someone might still, depending on how badly hurt Shihouin-kun is. And if I'd not been about my wits, I might have..."

"Sensei left you to deal with it. That means he was testing you to do so, most likely." Yunosuke flashed him a smile, lifting Onoe's broad form up and tossing him over his shoulder with surprising ease for one so lean and lanky. "Besides, you took the decision to get involved. Just like you took the decision to go chasing off into the forest after Kyouraku when he broke bounds earlier in the term. You have to live with the choices you make - you're old enough to know that, aren't you?"

"Y..Yes." Juushirou admitted. "But even so...wasn't he taking a big risk? What if I hadn't been able to handle it?"

"The fact he didn't intervene is probably proof that he knew you could." Yunosuke said evenly. "More likely, though, he wanted others to see that you could. Maybe you to see it yourself. Because Onoe is right about one thing, crazy as he was just then."

He tapped his hand absently against Onoe's unconscious form, then,

"This is a small part of District One, and the world is much bigger." He continued. "You will face prejudice at pretty much every turn, because you're blazing a trail for all of those who might follow you. You may have realised already that your success or failure here is a significant thing. If Sensei can successfully train a District boy to Gotei level, then it opens up the possibility of training hundreds more. And of the four District children currently here, you are the one who has stood out most of all. Your power is impressive, and by no means inferior to your Clan peers. So he's invested his hopes in you. I thought that might be the case the first day we met, but now I'm sure of it. He chose _you_ to be his figurehead. You're the one he's counting on to show Noble society that there are other options available to us all."

Juushirou stared at his companion for a moment, then he smiled.

"Shunsui said something like that, too." He murmured. "But I didn't come here for that reason. I came here because...because I wanted to repay Father for his faith in me. And I wanted to be able to protect my family. That's all. I didn't realise that I was as important as all that. Even though at times people have said things...Kuchiki-kun has, too. But that Sensei has that much faith...Do you really think that's the case?"

"You just disarmed a trained assassin, and rendered him ineffective without suffering more than a scratch." Yunosuke reminded him. "Even when you'd seen him wound a classmate, you still didn't back away from it, because you knew Onoe would likely hurt someone else - or himself - before the night was out."

"It was pride too, that drove me." Juushirou said sheepishly. "Because of how he spoke to me. I'm not sure if that's a weakness or a strength, but I do have it, Anideshi. Even born as I am, I know that I have pride."

"Sometimes people need to fight for pride as much as they do to protect." Yunosuke winked at him. "But that's something you'll learn more as you get older, no doubt. For the time being, however, I think it's best left at that. That and the fact that clearly Sensei's experiment is so far a success - and as an Urahara, I'm curious to see how you'll make out over the rest of your time here. I rather think it's going to be an eye-opener to a lot of people, when they realise what the Districts have been hiding all this time."

He grinned.

"Run along, anyway, will you? You said you wanted to check on Shihouin, and you're wasting time by babbling here. You're outside of curfew, after all, and even if all I've said is true, Sensei is pretty hot on rules. Just because he let you have your head this time, I wouldn't push it. You may still get called up on that, in the end."

"I suppose so." Juushirou said ruefully. "Thank you, Anideshi. And thank you for telling me that, as well. Because I'll think about it. All of it. A whole lot."

"See that you do." Yunosuke replied. Then, with a flicker of spirit power he was gone, and Juushirou was alone in the clearing once more.

_  
A trailblazer, huh?_

He frowned, pursing his lips as he ran his fingers pensively up against the rugged trunk of the big tree. It stood stoic and firm despite the wound it had received to its exposed root, and Juushirou found himself absently remembering his father's metaphor about the ability of a tree to stand tall without support even against the strongest of winds. This tree had probably seen many battles and storms, yet here it continued to flourish, year on year, and somehow it reminded Juushirou of the sapling who had bravely fought to survive back home in District Six.

_I don't know if it's a burden I'm ready to carry - or one I even want to carry. But either way, I don't suppose it's my choice any more. I'm here and I have an obligation, after all, to use what I can do now I've begun learning the things Shinigami know. Tonight may or may not have been a test - a test of Sensei's faith in me, a test of my faith in my own judgement...or evidence to prove to those around me that I can match up to the pace here. But even though I didn't come here for those reasons...perhaps I understand them after all. Perhaps my role here is more important than even I knew. And if that's the case, then maybe I finally understand._

He raised his gaze, taking in the twinkling stars that glittered through the heavy branches of the tree.

_Maybe Father and Mother didn't die because I was cursed after all. Maybe it was simply that they wanted me to be here now, to be able to help Sensei and Soul Society in a way I didn't even know I could. But this time I've crossed Clans and survived. And I've held my own. It's early days, yet. First steps. But Anideshi is right. If I can succeed here, others can too. And if they see me succeeding, maybe others will want to. And Soul Society's balance will be restored. Even if it's just a little bit...I'd like to do something to help that._

He smiled, glancing ruefully down at his rumpled _hakama_ as he did so.

_But no doubt I'll get a scolding for fighting and for breaking curfew, and I'll accept both without complaint. Because in the end, though I beat him, I almost let him beat me. And that proves I still have a lot more to learn before I'm ready to be the kind of Shinigami Sensei wants me to be!_


	29. Midori's Message

**Chapter Twenty Eight: Midori's Message**

Juushirou was fighting.

Shunsui bit his lip, interpreting the flicker and flow of his classmate's distinctive reiatsu as it pierced through the cool night air. Even though he could barely pick up Onoe's suppressed spirit force, it didn't matter. Was his friend winning? Was he safe? Or was he in trouble? At this distance, Shunsui couldn't tell and it bothered him.

_He says he doesn't want to be saved, but I don't want him killed. Selfish it may be, but I don't want to be here without him._

"You seem preoccupied, Kyouraku-kun."

Retsu sat down opposite Shunsui, casting him a smile as she brushed the sweat-damp hair out of the unconscious student's eyes. She extended her fingers towards him, and little by little a warm golden glow began to surround the injured boy's body, growing and strengthening into a full scale barrier of Kidou with every passing second. As it did so, Shunsui saw that the blood had ceased to run so freely from his classmate's wound, and inwardly he marvelled at the capabilities of his companion's magic.

_I wish I'd known how to do something like that for Juu, when we were out on that mountain.  
_  
He nodded, offering her a troubled smile.

"I was worrying about Juushirou." He admitted, and Retsu smiled, shaking her head slightly.

"You are fond of him, I can tell." She murmured. "But I don't think there's any need to worry quite so much as that. He's a strong young man, after all, with will and drive that's all his own. If it was otherwise, do you think Genryuusai-sama would have chosen him to come here? Do not underestimate him. He's as capable of you are of fighting his own battles, and you shouldn't doubt that."

"I'm not. At least, I don't think I am." Shunsui sighed. "I'm sorry. I know you're right, Unohana-sensei. I need to trust in him, else there's no point in him being here. I'm just fond of him, is all. I don't think I'd like it, if anything happened to him."

"Your loyalty is admirable." Retsu said lightly. "But in this case, your interference would do nothing to help the situation. You can be of far more use to me here. After all, you've used a considerable amount of your own spirit power tonight already, haven't you?"

"Sensei?" Shunsui looked startled, and Retsu offered another smile.

"You really did get here tremendously quickly, after all."

"Ah. Yeah. I guess I did." Shunsui reddened, biting his lip. "Just...Shihouin...well, he was bleeding and choking and...it wasn't pretty. So I guess I hurried. Because it was like that."

"You were very worried about him, weren't you?" Retsu's reflected. "Anxiety can push us to do amazing things, sometimes."

"Unohana-sensei?" Shunsui eyed her hesitantly, and Retsu shrugged her shoulders.

"Shunpo is an art many Shinigami struggle to master." She said softly. "But I somehow think you'll take to it like a duck to water, won't you, Kyouraku-kun?"

Shunsui looked sheepish.

"It's not like I do it neatly or properly." He admitted. "I don't know how I do it, either. No one's ever trained me. But when someone's in trouble, then, I can. Only a short distance – but even so, I can. It's just an instinct inside of me, I think…I _was_ worried about Shihouin. He was bleeding a lot. And now I'm worried about Juushirou…"

"I really do think that Ukitake-kun needs to have chances to prove his own strength too, Kyouraku-kun." Retsu said calmly. "I don't believe he will come to harm against Onoe-kun's weapon. He has a lot of potential as yet unrealised – besides, I doubt he will be alone for long."

She smiled again.

"Of course, Genryuusai-sama may wonder why you were out of your dormitory at all." She murmured. "But I will tell him how you've saved Shihouin-kun's life, and I think he'll overlook it."

Shunsui sent her a grateful look.

"Thank you, Unohana-sensei." He said fervently. "I break the rules far too often for him to go easy on me otherwise."

"I brought the water, Retsu-sama." Mitsuki returned at that moment, and Retsu turned to glance at her, indicating for her to place the bowl down beside the bed.

"Good girl." She said gently. "Then I can clean his wound and start to dress it. He's strong – his natural life energy is robust and even now I can feel it stabilising beneath the Kidou seal. You can relax, Mitsuki-san. He will without a doubt recover."

Mitsuki let out a heavy sigh of relief, and Retsu offered her another of her serene smiles.

"It's hard, at first, to rationalise the way these things affect you." She said softly. "I see it a lot with Unohana children. But I hadn't realised that there was a child born outside of my Clan who had the same potential. This is the first time, I think, for me."

Mitsuki reddened, looking self-conscious.

"My Father thinks its strange, and my Clan don't really understand either." She murmured. "Nobody at home ever has understood why it is I feel so strongly when things happen. The Clan leader wanted me sent here because he said I was hopeless in all other respects – that I'd never make a fighter with my aversion to pain and suffering and Father didn't want me to hold a blade because he's protective of me in a lot of ways. I suppose because I am like this – he doesn't like me getting hurt."

"I don't know how long it's been since a Kuchiki appeared with these talents." Retsu dipped a cloth in the water, beginning to carefully wash Kai's congealing blood from the wound. "Though it has happened before, in the long distant past. Unfortunately your Clan consider it a weakness, I think…which is a shame because with your latent Kuchiki instincts, you have a tremendous gift locked away inside of you."

"A gift?" Mitsuki looked startled, and Retsu nodded.

"Your Clan Leader may not realise it for what it is, but nonetheless it is a gift." She said softly. "A gift to know when someone needs help and to reach out to help them. It's a healer's gift, Mitsuki-san. A gift highly prized among my own people."

"Mitsuki is a healer?" Shunsui dragged his thoughts away from Juushirou, eying his red-faced classmate in interest. "A proper one? That's why she has these dreams and so on...because that's the kind of spirit power she has?"

"Undoubtedly." Retsu nodded, setting the blooded cloth aside. "Mitsuki-san, will you pass me that clean cloth, please? Even on this summer night it wouldn't do for the boy to catch a chill on top of his other ailments."

"Yes, Retsu-sama." Mitsuki nodded her head, reaching hurriedly for the cloth and passing it over Kai's still form.

"That's why you worry so much about Juu?" Shunsui eyed her quizzically. "And here I was thinking you had a crush on him...I'm quite disappointed. Surely it's not just your healer's instincts kicking into play, Mitsuki-chan? Are you going to destroy my fun before it's even begun?"

Mitsuki stared, colour searing her face once more as her jaw dropped, horror and dismay flooding her grey eyes. At her expression, Shunsui grinned.

"Sora did say I shouldn't tease you, but even so, I can't help it." He said frankly. "But I really was sure that you had a special interest in Juushirou's health and well being. Tonight, too - you grabbed his sleeves and plain ignored me till I spoke to you. It was like you felt him coming and made a mad dash for him - surely that's not just your Kuchiki wits or your healing instincts coming into play?"

"Now doesn't seem to be a good time to tease, Kyouraku-kun." Retsu said quietly, a pointed note in her soft tones. "Not when Shihouin-kun is still in need of treatment. Instead, perhaps you can both help me apply a dressing – it's the fabric just to your left, Kyouraku-kun. Place it, if you please, just beneath where the Kidou glow wanes under my touch."

Mitsuki shot Shunsui a wary look, then,

"Ukitake-kun is a kind person." She murmured. "And I don't think it's fair that a kind person should have to have bad things happen to him."

"So you feel sorry for him?" Shunsui obediently grasped the indicated dressing fabric, eying the wound critically and then placing it in the aforementioned spot. "He won't like that, you know, if he finds it out. He's a bit touchy about things like that."

"I don't feel sorry for him!" Mitsuki reddened yet again, shaking her head hurriedly. "He's a strong person and you can't feel sorry for strong people. I...I guess I just don't think it's fair. But even though...even though he isn't well, he still carries on doing everything. Even though he isn't Clan, he still carries on when people are unkind to him. And...it makes me feel like I'm pathetic. Because I'm not sure where I belong, or even what to do when it comes to my own spirit power."

"The answer to that is a simple one, Mitsuki-san." Retsu paused in her work, eying the girl kindly. "If you truly feel you want to pursue your arts in a more healing manner, then I will gladly help you to do so. There are, after all, plenty of healing Shinigami in Fourth District. Yet there are very few being trained from other places, if any at all. With your Kuchiki reiatsu, I believe you would be able to master the highest levels of healing Kidou that many never manage to use. But in the end it's up to you. Your gifts are very specific, but perhaps you should consult your Father and your kinsfolk before making a firm decision about your future."

"And maybe you could ask Juu, too." Shunsui said innocently, and Mitsuki stared at him, stricken.

"Kyouraku-kun." Retsu said softly, and Shunsui looked sheepish.

"Sorry." He said apologetically. "It's just...well, Mitsuki said it herself. That Juu was going against all expectations and forging his own path. If anyone knows what that's like it's probably him. Maybe I was teasing her - but in the end, talking to him probably wouldn't be a bad idea."

He frowned, glancing towards the window.

"Whatever's happening out there has stopped. Juu's reiatsu has calmed." He said, relief in his tones. "You were right, Unohana-sensei. Juu's okay after all."

"Of course he is." Mitsuki said, her cheeks pink but her eyes resolute as she sent him an indignant look. "Ukitake-kun's strong, after all. And he doesn't back away or avoid things, either. Not if they matter."

"Ouch. Meaning I do." Shunsui pretended to wince, his spirits suddenly feeling a whole lot lighter. "Well, I suppose I can't argue with you. It's true, after all. Still,"

He grinned, reaching across to pat her on the shoulder.

"Shall I tell him that he has such a pretty cheerleader, or do you want to tell him yourself?"

"Kyouraku-kun, if I have to warn you once more about teasing Mitsuki-san while there are more pressing things at stake, you will find yourself in a far less comfortable position."

Retsu raised her gaze to his, and despite himself Shunsui quailed slightly at the steeliness he saw in those normally gentle eyes. "I have warned you, after all, that this is a sick room and your classmate is unwell. This is not appropriate behaviour and I will not tolerate any more of it. Do you understand?"

Shunsui swallowed hard, holding up his hands.

"Yes, Unohana-sensei. I'm sorry." He said quietly, and Retsu nodded.

"I'm glad." She said simply, turning her attention back to her patient. "And it seems the treatment has already taken some effect. He appears to be stirring. Speak to him a while, if you please…I will go and see to it that a proper bed is prepared for him to rest more comfortably."

With that she was gone into the back room, and Shunsui's gaze darted to the bier, seeing that the Clan Leader was right. Though at first it was only the slightest of twitches, Kai's lashes had begun to quiver, parting slightly to reveal hazy, confused golden eyes. He had lost a lot of blood, yet this evident sign of life was reassuring, and as he blinked a couple of times to focus, Shunsui shot him a warm grin.

"Welcome back, Kai-kun." He said softly. "Did you have a nice, peaceful sleep?"

"Kyou…raku." Kai moistened his lips, then, "Edogawa? You…too?"

A flicker of wariness crossed his dazed countenance, but Mitsuki held up her hands, shaking her head hurriedly.

"I know you don't get along with Ryuu-kun, but I'm not here because of that or anything else." She said quickly. "I just knew you were hurt and wanted to help you. That's all. I don't like Clan rivalry. All it does is make people get injured and killed and I hate it. So I really just wanted to help you, Shihouin-kun – if there was any way I could."

"Mitsuki's quite talented at picking out wounded reiatsu." Shunsui added. "Juu and I were already on our way to find you and Onoe when she jumped us and told us you'd been hurt. You shouldn't look at her like that – in the end she came to help you, not for any other reason."

Kai did not respond immediately, seemingly processing this fact. Then he groaned, twitching his fingers cautiously down towards where Retsu had fastened the bandage.

"Don't play with that." Shunsui warned, reaching across to pull his hand back. "Unohana-sensei is nice as anything, but I get the feeling if you upset her, she's not quite as gentle as she seems. So don't tick her off by disturbing her handiwork – or ours, for that matter. Lie still a while, until she comes to tell you what to do. She's gone to prepare a proper bed for you, after all. You're in no state to do anything else, anyhow – that wound was deep."

"Mm." Kai's gaze clouded, then, "Tomoyuki?"

"God knows." Shunsui shrugged his shoulders. "He and Juu were facing off when I brought you here – or don't you remember that?"

"I remember you grabbing hold of me when I fell." Kai spoke softly. "And not much else, to be honest. But…Tomoyuki had a…is Ukitake…"

"We're pretty sure Ukitake-kun is fine, Shihouin-kun." Mitsuki said gently. "And I don't think Onoe-kun managed to hurt anyone else. He was very upset, wasn't he? About Aitori-sensei being murdered."

"They were close." Kai agreed. "But…even s…so…"

"Your sister's caused a lot of problems, even if she seeks to solve a bunch of others." Shunsui said categorically. "Your Clan is a mess, Shihouin. You know that, don't you? In-fighting and rule breaking and now all of this tonight. Onoe won't be staying here. I guarantee you that. No matter what kind of pleas come out of District Two – I don't see Sensei letting a student stay if he tried to end another's life."

"I d…don't care." Kai admitted. "I don't care wh…what happens to him. He w…was Aitori's ally. And I'm Neesama's. So we're en…enemies. And he knows it too."

"Do you really feel that way, Shihouin-kun?" Mitsuki looked surprised. "Even though he's your family?"

"I suppose it's difficult to be sympathetic towards someone who's impaled you on the end of their Clan dagger." Shunsui reflected. "It's all right, Mitsuki. Not everyone sees things like Juu does – in the circumstances I think Kai-kun is quite entitled not to want to forgive or forget. At least not yet…maybe not at all."

"Ukitake…is all right?" Kai whispered. "Tomoyuki was…he trained…I can beat him…but this time…"

"Ukitake is absolutely fine, Shihouin-kun – though he's gratified for the concern."

A voice from the doorway made Shunsui start, getting to his feet with an exclamation as he registered his friend's presence. At his expression, Juushirou's grin widened, and he shrugged his shoulders, coming across the room to join them.

"I didn't feel you coming." Shunsui eyed him reproachfully. "You had me worried about you, Juu-kun. A little more consideration for your classmates would be nice."

"Are you hurt, Ukitake-kun?" Mitsuki looked anxious, and Juushirou shook his head.

"No. Just a bit roughed up. Onoe-kun's strong, after all." He said frankly. "But I don't think he expected me to be strong in return. Anideshi has him, now, and he's taking him to confinement until he calms down. He said it would be all right if I came here, even though we're all in breach of curfew and a thousand other things. I'm expecting to be punished tomorrow for fighting and breaking bounds – but I'll take it and I won't complain. I'm glad I stopped him, so I don't mind."

He turned, casting the incredulous Kai a warm smile.

"You look a little better than you did when we arrived in the forest." He added. "I'm glad, Shihouin-kun. I was worried about how deep that dagger went."

"You…beat…Tomoyuki? In…in a proper…a proper fight?" Kai murmured, and Juushirou nodded.

"I imagine so. I'm not sure what a proper fight is, but I certainly disarmed him, and I had him immobilised when Anideshi came to see what was going on. Would you call that a proper fight, Shihouin-kun? You have more experience than I do with things like that."

"I guess so." Despite himself, a faint smile touched Kai's lips. "Then…is that why…Midori-neesama asked you…to be her ally?"

"_Midori-sama_ did?" Mitsuki's eyes became huge, and Juushirou shrugged.

"I don't know as you'd call it that." He said cautiously. "I agreed not to reveal her whereabouts or that we'd met and talked with her. Hirata and I tracked her down when Aitori's murder happened. And in return she promised she wouldn't kill anyone else. I've kept my word, and she's kept hers. But it doesn't matter now, if people know that promise was made. Because she only wanted us to keep silent until she'd managed to meet with Genryuusai-sensei. And that was tonight."

"Midori-sama…is _here_?" Mitsuki stared, and Kai nodded slightly.

"Ukitake's right." He murmured. "Neesama…I saw her too. She came…to speak to…Sensei."

"About your Clan." Juushirou agreed gravely.

"Why would you promise her, though? Why would _you_ care about that at all?" Kai demanded, unwittingly raising his voice and he gasped, wincing as pain shuddered through his body. "Ah…I…I can't…"

"Don't try and speak loudly, you idiot." Shunsui ordered. "We can all hear you fine here, after all."

"And it's hard to answer your question, really." Juushirou admitted. "Except in the way I explained it in the library before. I don't know about the Clans, and even though I understand what Midori-sama is doing, I don't know the political ramifications or rules associated with it. But even though it's the case, there was one thing I did understand. And that was that she was worried about you, Shihouin-kun. And you were worried about her. So as an elder brother, I put myself in her place. I thought about whether I'd go to extreme lengths to protect my siblings. And I probably would. I don't know that I'd have killed Aitori – but I can't say that I wouldn't, if it meant Chi-chan or Hiro-kun or one of the others were in a dangerous situation if I didn't. It's hard to tell."

He smiled, looking sheepish.

"Midori-sama cares a lot about her family." He concluded. "That's why I agreed to help her. That and because Hirata wanted it, too…he's really the one who's allied with her, Shihouin-kun. Far more so than me in some respects."

"That mouse?" Kai looked incredulous once more, and Juushirou nodded.

"Hirata's father helped your sister escape District Seven." He agreed. "And because of that, Hirata's also decided to support her, too. He understands better than you think he does the kind of situation you've been put into – probably more than I do, in truth. He's quiet, but he thinks about things and even though he's younger than us, he's not stupid. And that was the decision he made."

"It's a long path yet, however." Shunsui reflected. "Nii-sama's inclined to support Midori's claim, too – it's less hassle that way, he seems to think. But even if she gets Sensei's support – that's only two Clans she can count on. To be accepted as leader, she'd need to have at least four votes in her favour…and that doesn't even begin to tackle the other things going on in the background."

"No." Kai's gaze clouded, and he nodded. "I know. It's a v…very long path, isn't it? But…it's one we m…made. It's one we h…have to walk."

His gaze darted to Juushirou, then,

"Thank you, at least, f…for that much." He murmured, and Juushirou looked surprised. "For k…keeping Neesama's secret – th…thank you."

"You're welcome." Juushirou's expression softened.

"And now it's a full house." Shunsui sat back on his heels, eying his companions playfully. "Juu's successfully conquered and befriended all of his wayward dorm-mates even with time to spare before the end of the first term. Is there anyone who can stand up to his powers of persuasion?"

"Shut _up_, Shunsui!" Juushirou reddened, casting him a dark glower. "It's not like that. And I didn't do it because I expected Shihouin-kun to be my friend at the end of it, either. He doesn't have to be. I'm not asking anything from him or from anyone. I do the things I believe in – I don't have ulterior motives. I wanted to believe in Midori-sama, so I did. I wanted to help Shihouin-kun, so I did. There's nothing else to it. So stop making out like there is."

"Maybe that's true, but even so, I doubt Kai-kun's going to find it so easy to hate you from hereon in, is he?" Shunsui pointed out, and Kai frowned, shaking his head.

"I don't h…hate Ukitake." He murmured. "Certainly not…not now. Maybe not b…before, either. He's n…not easy to h…hate, after all."

"You don't?" Shunsui looked startled, and Kai shook his head again.

"I was w…worried about him." He admitted. "I was s…sent here to spy, really, for my Clan – I was sent to t…train here because of p…people like Ukitake c…c…coming. My family were…were worried about District children coming to the A…Academy and d…didn't like that Genryuusai-sensei was s…so insistent on d…doing it. More, because one h…had got into m…my class and displaced T…Tomoyuki. But I guess…tonight you proved once and f…for all that you d…do outrank Tomoyuki, Ukitake. So th…that's that one settled."

"I outranked him anyway." Juushirou said calmly. "I'm second overall, and he's tenth. That's a gap of eight places, when you stop and take it into account."

"Why would it be worrying, though?" Mitsuki looked confused. "I know a lot of the Clans were…well, they didn't like it. But…it's not frightening. Even my Clan…they weren't sure what to make of it, but most of them felt that, well, it wouldn't affect them really. They wouldn't work with anyone they felt beneath them…something like that."

She pinkened.

"I'm sorry, Ukitake-kun." She murmured. "I didn't mean that to sound rude."

"You weren't saying it to offend me." Juushirou grinned. "You were repeating your family's opinions, not your own. Right?"

"Right." Mitsuki looked relieved. "I don't think you're beneath anyone. But yes. That's what people in the Clan said."

"But the Shihouin haven't been as strong as the Kuchiki." Shunsui reflected. "And it probably worried them seeing Juu race up the rankings like he did."

"Exactly." Kai let out a heavy sigh, then, "It's not just that, though you are powerful, Ukitake. It's…what Kyouraku said. About b…befriending people. Knocking through their d…defences. Houjou, Endou – that w…wasn't such a big deal, except I always thought Endou might not be…well, I didn't t…trust him because I didn't know why h…he was here. But then you t…talked Kuchiki around – and I n…never expected that. And Kyouraku too – when m…my family could have allied with that Clan but in the end did not. You d…do get people to trust you. And that's why…why I was worried. Because I found it r…really hard to hate you too – even though I h…had to. Even though I w…wanted to – it's goddamn difficult to do."

Juushirou stared at him, bewildered.

"I didn't do it on purpose." He said slowly. "I'm sorry, Shihouin-kun. I didn't mean to make you feel that way."

"Did you just apologise for being nice to him and making it hard for him to hate you?" Shunsui demanded, and at this, Juushirou reddened, looking sheepish.

"I…maybe." He conceded. "I suppose that _is _a bit funny, when you think about it."

At his contrite expression Shunsui burst out laughing.

"You see, Juu, it's a gift of yours." He said, mirth in his dark eyes. "You can't beat good, honest kindness, after all."

"Good evening, Ukitake-kun." At that moment Retsu re-joined them, a folded slip of paper in hand as she cast the newcomer a smile. "I'm glad to see you in one piece but it seems a little noisy here considering how recently Shihouin-kun was hurt. Although I'm happy to see you've rejoined us, Shihouin-kun – are you in pain?"

"A little." Kai's voice was growing stronger, and despite Retsu's gentle rebuke, it was clear that the unexpected company had helped as much as the Kidou treatment, for there was better colour already in his pale cheeks than there had been before and a faint smile had touched his lips at Ukitake's strange and unexpected apology. "My body f…feels warm now, though. Outside it…it was g…going cold."

"The Kidou will help to heal the damage to your tissues, but you will need to rest and allow your body to do the rest." Retsu told him gently. "Your life is not now in danger – your bleeding has stopped and the wound, though serious, is not unfixable. You should take every opportunity to rest and regain your strength until then."

"Sensei m…might send me away." Kai murmured, and Shunsui saw his golden eyes suddenly become clouded as he reflected on this fact.

"Why would he do that?" Juushirou frowned, and Mitsuki nodded her head.

"Onoe-kun was the one who hurt you." She said softly. "It wasn't your fault, Shihouin-kun."

"But…I was sent…as a spy." Kai reminded him. "For…things I can't…even talk about. Not…even now."

Shunsui glanced at Juushirou, reading the consternation in the boy's hazel eyes, and he sighed.

"Do you _want_ to be sent away, Kai-kun?" He asked quietly, and Kai faltered, then slowly shook his head.

"I w…want to help M…Midori-nee." He murmured. "But…I…"

"You've weighty burdens on your shoulders, Shihouin-kun." Retsu put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, offering him a smile. "But you shouldn't look so downhearted. Genryuusai-sama is strict but fair. You should speak to him about the things concerning you. Just as your sister has come to do – after all, things have changed. And, it seems, will continue to change."

"But…I br…broke bounds t…tonight too. And f…fought with Tomoyuki. And…"

"The difference is that you didn't take a weapon and go out there to kill anyone." Shunsui said matter-of-factly. "You went to see Midori-dono, didn't you? That's all. Onoe was out for revenge – just as Hirata called it. That's why Juu and I came looking for you and Onoe in the first place, incidentally – because neither of us knew what might happen and it's a good thing we did. But whatever he was thinking, you weren't acting as an assassin this evening, were you? Or as a spy. Or anything else. You came to see your sister, because you wanted to see for yourself that she was okay."

"Mm." Kai frowned, and Shunsui offered him a grin.

"I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to see her myself, actually. If she's as pretty as all that, after all…"

"Shunsui." Juushirou shot him a reproachful look, and Shunsui held up his hands in mock surrender.

"I'm just saying." He responded unrepentantly. "She has a reputation as a stunning beauty. I'd at least like a gawk at her before she hares off into the night."

"Then you'll be disappointed, I'm afraid, Kyouraku-kun." Retsu said lightly, setting the folded piece of paper down by the side of the bed. "Because it seems Midori-sama has already left the school premises."

"Left?" Kai's eyes widened, a stricken expression crossing his gaze. "But she…"

"She left you a letter, it seems." Retsu tapped the paper lightly. "Perhaps you would rather read it later, though, when you are more rested?"

"No…" Kai reached his fingers out for it, wincing as he jarred his injury, and Shunsui frowned.

"Is it a private letter, Unohana-sensei?" He asked, and Retsu shook her head.

"I don't believe so. It has not been sealed, and Genryuusai-sama sent it here via Gujihara-kun so I do not imagine it contains anything highly secure."

"Then maybe I could read it for him?" Shunsui suggested. "What about it, Kai-kun? Would you trust me with your sister's elegant screed?"

Kai was silent for a moment, then he nodded.

"I…I trust you." He murmured. "Please, Kyouraku."

"Should we go and wait outside?" Juushirou glanced at Mitsuki, then up at the Clan Leader, and Retsu nodded.

"For now it might be best." She said gently. "Return to your dorms, both of you. Kyouraku-kun, when you've read the letter, I want you to leave as well. Shihouin-kun's best cure now is sleep – and I want him to be able to rest."

"Understood." Shunsui nodded, sending Juushirou a grin. "I'll catch you up in a little while. Don't turn the lights out without me, huh? I want to change first."

"We'll think about it, depending how much you dawdle." Juushirou told him evenly. "Come on, Edogawa-san. Let's leave them to it. I'll walk you as far as the steps at least – the Seniors know I was out and about and if we tell them you've been helping Unohana-sensei too it should be all right."

With that they were gone, and a wicked twinkle touched Shunsui's expression as he scooped up the folded paper.

"They make a pretty couple, don't you think?" He observed innocently, and Retsu sent him a thoughtful look.

"I think you should concentrate on your task and not on other things for the time being." She reflected. "I will also leave you alone – but I will hold you responsible, Kyouraku-kun, for any deterioration in Shihouin-kun's condition."

"She's not as soft as she looks, is she?" Shunsui murmured, as he watched the tall, slender Clan Leader head back to the small chamber at the rear of the Healing Bay. "Still, though, she knows her stuff. And I better not cross her, so I'll get reading."

"Wait." As Shunsui made to open the paper, Kai flexed his fingers across to brush his classmate's sleeve. "Kyouraku…"

"Mm?" Shunsui paused, sending him a startled look. "What's up? Don't you want me to see it after all?"

"No. Not that." Kai shook his head, then, "Thank you. For…my life…and…for keeping secrets…as shameful…as my Clan's."

"I don't think your Clan's secrets are the really shameful ones, Kai-kun." Shunsui said frankly. "And I think it's a damned shame that the hammer may fall on your people but without proof it won't fall on others who are the real vipers in the shadows. Your folk have been stupid and desperate, maybe. But this all comes from somewhere far darker. And it annoys me that I can't do anything about that, yet. Especially with Megumi still on my mind – I don't like that I've so far let her down."

"Did…Hirata…really…"

"Yes." Shunsui cut across him before his companion could voice the question, nodding his head. "Whatever else has happened with...with that family...I don't think Hirata is a part of it. On the contrary, I think Juu's been right to show faith in him all along. He is shy and he is weak. But he wanted to come out to help you tonight, and he takes seriously all aspects of the situation - probably more than Juu and I even know, in fact, given his own position. He's chosen to become your sister's ally, and I think you can trust him in that. You needn't worry about his motives. I don't think he's any kind of spy."

Kai digested this for a moment, then,

"And you?"

"Me?" Shunsui looked surprised. "Do you think I'm a spy now, too?"

"No." Kai pulled a face, and Shunsui knew that if his companion was in better health, he would have snorted derisively at the implication. "Foolish. I meant...where...Midori-nee...what..."

"If Tokutarou-nii supports her, then that's the Kyouraku's position." Shunsui said matter-of-factly. "I won't go against that. I don't like that she killed Aitori. But even if I took that as a personal affront, it doesn't change anything particularly."

He grinned.

"You're really asking if we're friends, after all." He said casually, causing Kai's pale cheeks to colour slightly at the bluntness of his perception. "And the answer to that is pretty easy. _You_ haven't killed anybody, and I'm taking leaves out of Juu's book when it comes to things like this. You're not your Clan any more than Hirata is his. And you'll have a hard enough time of it, I think, when this breaks into being public knowledge. I've known about it since before and I know about it now. I don't hate you - and even though you've done your fair share of things to irritate me this term, I figure it's pretty much a mutual state of affairs. Besides..."

He glanced at the paper, then,

"You trusted me with something you couldn't trust anyone else with." He said softly. "I'm not used to being trusted, but I don't know that I dislike it, to be honest. I'd say you can call us friends, Kai-kun...on terms entirely outside of Clan politics, I mean. Whatever our families do - while we're students here, that takes priority."

"I will...speak to...Sensei." Kai murmured, relief glittering in his golden eyes. "About...everything."

"Be careful about 'everything'." Shunsui cautioned. "Right now there are things we both know but can't say. And even your very daring sister probably can't do anything about that without some firm piece of incriminating evidence."

"I know." Kai nodded feebly. "But...at least...where the Shihouin...are concerned. I...I can."

"Speaking of which..." Shunsui unfolded the letter, smoothing it out before him. "Yes, she does have a very elegant hand, Kai-kun. A definite hime's scrawl."

"Are you...always going...to call me...that now?" Kai asked, and Shunsui grinned at him.

"Probably. At least a lot of the time." He agreed cheerfully. "I've been doing it since the day we met, after all."

"And I told...you then..."

"Yes, but I've done it countless times since and you haven't complained." Shunsui said wisely. "I'm naturally rude and overly familiar, so it's just one of the pitfalls of being in my acquaintance. Besides, I think it sounds more friendly. And if you're Kai, you're Kai. You're not Shihouin. You're Kai. You're a person and not your Clan. When Juu took that attitude with Hirata, despite his connections it made me think about it. The same is true for you as it is for him, I think. The others may be assassins - even your sister is clearly capable of merciless violence if she chooses. But even though you're strong, you're not the same. You don't seem like a killer to me...not even given your proud family traditions."

"I've never..." Kai shook his head, looking pensive. "Tomoyuki...was right...about that. I...can fight...for show. I'm strong...and I have...good skill. But I...don't want...to kill. For my Clan...I could. If I had to...I would. But I...I don't...it's not..."

"You don't need to defend it to me." Shunsui said softly. "I don't believe in it, either. So in that respect, we'll get on just fine."

He flashed his companion a conspiratorial smile.

"Though I guess we'll keep that a secret between us for now." He added. "Because an assassin with an aversion to killing might come in for stick and you've plenty to deal with already."

He glanced at the letter.

"Are you lying comfortably? I'm going to read Midori-dono's letter to you now."

"I'm ready." Kai agreed. "Thank you, Kyouraku. I appreciate it."

"This term's been a learning curve for a lot of people." Shunsui said simply. "Don't mention it."

He ran his finger down the columns of kanji, then,

"She writes...

_'Kai-kun,_

_I'm sincerely sorry that we won't get the chance to talk the way I promised, but time is pressing on me._" He added.

"_Genryuusai-sama has given me forty eight hours in which to return home and do my best to put things there in order before he releases what Aitori left behind regarding certain elements of Shihouin activity. I'm sure that, when I speak to Uncle, and make him realise how serious everything is, he'll acceed to my suggestions and everything will move quickly from thereon in. It's vital it does so before investigations begin - but I know you'll understand that better than anyone. I kept you out of it because if something goes wrong, you're the last hope this Clan has and the less involved you are the better. But I pray it won't come to that. Tokutarou-sama has already given me his assurance of a favourable Council vote, and as for the rest...time will tell. Have a little faith in me and I'll do my best to make contact with you in one way or another again before too long. I intend on doing everything in my power to prevent the worst ramifications from hitting our homeland and our kin - Father and Aniue are in my thoughts a lot at the moment and I know that when I say that, you'll forgive me for hurrying off once more into the darkness. _

Ah! And here's something to cheer your little heart right up."

He smiled.

"_Genryuusai-sama has intimated to me that, unless I or the Clan choose or need to recall you, your place is at the Academy. He seems keen to keep you, and if you are content to remain, I think the training he can give you will be of benefit, whatever future our family faces. He seems to think you have a lot of potential, should you choose to use it_. _And that can only be a good thing, given the shakiness of our current state._"

He shrugged, setting it down.

"She signs it 'with love, Midori-nee." He added. "It's not a long letter, but even so, it should put your mind somewhat at rest."

"It does." Kai murmured. "Although...Father and Aniue...it worries me too."

"I'd do as she says and have faith in her." Shunsui advised, getting to his feet. "It seems to me that she's not someone who's easily swayed from her purpose. I'm sure she'll find a solution."

He smiled.

"Besides, even if your family are put under house arrest and dragged before the Council, they won't be condemned without a majority vote." He added softly. "And I'll speak to Nii-sama about that, you needn't worry. Nii-sama will speak to Kyouki-sama too, if I'm very clever about my mode of attack - which will be two Clans in your favour. Unohana-sensei's people never ever vote for death. That will only mean securing _one_ more Clan's clemency. Even if they are considered guilty, and even if the evidence is awful - there's still every likelihood that their lives will be spared. So think on that a while and get some sleep. I'll come visit you tomorrow, if I can...unless you really can't stand another dose of my company in such a short space of time."

"I sleep...in the same...dorm. I think...I can handle it." Despite himself there was humour in Kai's tones, and Shunsui was glad to hear it. "All right. And Kyouraku?"

"Mm?"

"Will you...tell Endou...thank you, too? And that...I'm sorry...I called him...a mouse."

"I'll tell him." Shunsui promised. "Right now he's the one spark of hope that family have - I think you'd do well to mend bonds with him, if you can."

He winked.

"Till tomorrow, then." He concluded. "Sweet dreams, Kai-kun. Don't dwell too much on things you can't change. Just do as Midori-dono says...and I'm sure that somehow, everything will work out just fine."

* * *

"I suppose it goes without saying, then, that whatever you became entangled in this evening is both highly secret and in complete breach of rules."

As Juushirou slipped into his dorm, Ryuu's acid tones made him pause, offering his classmate a rueful grin as he nodded his head.

"Something along those lines." He said frankly. "I don't know what will happen about it yet, not really. But we were right to go. Shihouin-kun got hurt – Shunsui's with him in the Healing Bay but he'll be back here soon."

"Shihouin got hurt?" Enishi's brow creased in consternation. "But surely…Midori-dono…"

"No. Nothing like that." Juushirou shook his head. "I didn't see her at all – I think she came and went."

"Then…it was revenge after all." Hirata murmured. "Onoe-kun was after Midori-sama, wasn't he? And he got Shihouin-kun instead."

"Pretty much." Juushirou agreed, sinking down onto his bunk with a sigh. "But it's fine. As I said, Shunsui took him to the Healing Bay. And I…"

"Fought with Onoe." Ryuu said astutely. "You needn't try and pretend otherwise. Just looking at you, even Houjou with his dead senses should be able to work out that much. As for me, I felt your Kidou – your reiatsu is distinctive, and you really can't cloak it when you're using an attack."

"Mm." Juushirou looked sheepish. "Though really I was just trying to hold him off. Anideshi has him now, anyhow. So it'll probably all be for Sensei to settle, in the end. I'm expecting to be summoned to his office and given some kind of punishment for using Kidou against a fellow student, even given the circumstances – so I suppose we'll see."

"If Onoe was really out for revenge against Midori-dono…" Enishi frowned, then, "Seems to me that he'll be the one in the real trouble. Not you."

"Undoubtedly he'll have questions to answer too." Juushirou agreed. "But I think he was mostly really really upset about Aitori. And irrational, too."

"Irrationality and unpleasant personality make a poor combination at the best of times." Ryuu reflected. "I don't think you can excuse Onoe based on that. Still, he is a Shihouin. This is how they are – you were foolish to get involved, Ukitake. You might have been hurt."

"No. I wasn't going to get hurt." Juushirou's brows drew together at this. "I have my own pride too, Kuchiki-kun. Last time Houjou-kun defended it for me and got into trouble on my account – this time I did it for myself and I'll take the consequences of it, too. I'm not having anyone saying things like that, when they reflect on the people I love the most. So I wasn't going to lose the fight, don't worry about that. There's a reason I rank higher than he does in Ouyoudou, after all – because I can think clearly when I fight and don't lose my head like an idiot when faced with an opponent."

"Ukitake-kun." Hirata's eyes widened, and Juushirou shot him a sheepish grin.

"I can stand up for myself just fine." He added. "As Onoe-kun found out."

"It's a frightening thought, isn't it? Juu going nuclear."

Shunsui opened the door at that moment, casting his companions a lazy grin. "Seems that he's right, though. Sounds like he put Onoe firmly in his place this time – nobody's going to be questioning his placing in Class One for a while to come, given that."

"Speaking of which, _you_ have some questions to answer of your own." Juushirou's eyes narrowed and he got to his feet, clapping his hands down on his friend's shoulders. "About earlier, in the forest. Why didn't you tell me you could use shunpo?"

"_Shunpo_?" Enishi's eyes almost fell out of his head, and Ryuu snorted.

"Nobody in First Year can do shunpo." He said categorically, but Juushirou shook his head, eying Shunsui searchingly.

"_Shunsui _can." He said quietly. "And I don't think it's the first time he did it. I think he used it before, too – to save me from the Hollow when we were in trouble that night."

"Kyouraku?" Enishi demanded, and Shunsui sighed, detaching himself from Juushirou's grasp and sinking down onto his bed.

"You might have waited until we were alone to discuss that." He reflected plaintively. "Dropping it on me unawares isn't nice – you didn't mention it at the Healing Bay so I thought perhaps you hadn't noticed. I guess that was a vain hope, huh?"

Juushirou shrugged.

"It's not like it's something to be ashamed of." He said firmly. "I didn't mention it before because Unohana-sensei was there, and I didn't want you to get into trouble for using an untaught skill without proper guidance, that's all. But here is secure enough – there's only us here and we're all friends, right? Besides, it's more difficult to deny it in front of more people. I saw it and I'm sure Shihouin-kun noticed it, too."

"But I might've convinced _him _it was loss of blood making him hallucinate." Shunsui said reflectively. "That is, providing he even remembers getting from the forest to the Healing Bay at all. But I should've known I'd get interrogated by you on the subject. You don't miss a trick, even when you're squaring off to a young hot-head with a Shihouin blade."

"Onoe-kun had a _knife_?" Hirata looked horrified. "Ukitake-kun, are you really not hurt?"

"Only bruised. Nothing else." Juushirou shook his head impatiently. "And Shunsui, stop trying to change the subject. You can, can't you? You know shunpo. Even though none of us should know it. You do."

Shunsui groaned.

"Fine. Whatever." He said at length, holding up his hands. "A very random, bastardised form of it. Maybe. It's not proper shunpo. I've not been taught how to do that any more than you. It's just something that I can do from time to time. If my awareness is heightened. If there's some kind of urgency or trouble. Like helping Shihouin tonight."

"Or helping me in the forest." Juushirou murmured, shaking his head slowly. "I knew it. That's how we got to that cave. You didn't carry me all that way. You used shunpo."

"Mm. I guess I did."

"I don't believe it." Ryuu shook his head. "It's not possible. Kyouraku…you…"

"Imagine what he'd be like if he bothered to work all of the time instead of only half of it." Juushirou agreed. "It's quite scary when you think of it like that, isn't it?"

"Well, I'd rather not talk about it in more public circles." Shunsui said frankly. "Yama-jii knows I can do it – he realised quicker than anyone else how I got Juu to that cave and asked me about it. But he agreed that there was no need for me to publicise the fact just yet. He just transferred me to practical Hohou and that was that."

"No wonder you're top of the class after such a short amount of time." Enishi reflected, looking rueful. "I think Ukitake's right. If you really tried, you'd leave us all in the dust."

"I don't know about that." Shunsui spread his hands. "I might have skills but I'm not good at deploying them and I'm bad at studying and hard work. So in the end my personality goes against me."

He grinned.

"I like enjoying myself far too much."

"Is Shihouin-kun going to be all right?" Hirata asked softly. "If Onoe-kun had a knife…"

"He is. He's strong. It was a nasty cut but it won't kill him." Shunsui agreed. "And he wanted to tell you that he was sorry he called you a mouse, too."

"He must have lost a lot of blood." Ryuu pursed his lips. "A Shihouin making an apology? Unheard of."

"Ryuu-kun…" Shunsui paused, then, "Listen. Stop it, huh? Drop the rivalry with Kai and let it go already. It's not worth it. Really."

"You have no idea what kind of a history his Clan and mine have, Kyouraku." Ryuu said coldly, and Shunsui shrugged.

"I don't care. This isn't history. This is now." He said categorically. "But I'm serious. Whatever petty things passed between you then, they need to stop. A lot is going to happen from hereon in. And you might or might not care a lot about it. But if you have any influence at all with your Clan, and you care anything at all for school unity, I want you to drop the rivalry. Because the Shihouin-ke may need Kuchiki help. And he won't ask you for it, so I am."

"Why under any circumstances would I choose to help such an undeserving family with anything?" Ryuu demanded archly, but Juushirou frowned.

"Shunsui's right." He said softly. "My opinion won't change anything – I can't sway votes or influence decisions. Even with that faint run of Kuchiki blood running through me – I've gone as far as I can go. But it might be that you – or your people – can help from hereon in. And even without revealing the details, with Midori-sama coming here…it's pretty obvious that there are problems in the Shihouin Clan that are about to hit their peak. Tonight should tell you that more than anything else."

Ryuu's eyes became stormy, and he shook his head.

"I have none of that kind of influence, and my family would probably think me mad if I wanted to help anyone from that family." He said quietly.

"I hope the Kuchiki-ke never need to ask for help." Hirata said softly, and Ryuu started, staring at him in consternation.

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing." Hirata reddened, shaking his head. "Just…if a Clan…if someone's in trouble, and you choose not to help…when it's your turn to need help…nobody will."

"Hirata's right." Enishi said frankly. "Besides, I would've thought the Kuchiki would like to lord it over the Shihouin by being their saviours."

"You don't understand." Ryuu said flatly. "I meant what I said. I have none of that kind of influence. And if I were to ask for it, I would probably be disinherited. My Uncle hates the Shihouin. Loathes them. Grandfather was killed by poison administered by cowardly assassins and Uncle has always believed it to be a conspiracy between Kuchiki dissidents and Shihouin hirelings. He often speaks of how he'd like to see them all driven down to destruction, since he could deal with the Kuchiki rebels but the Shihouin disappeared back into the shadows of District Two, out of his reach and his justice. If I were to even dare to _think_ about allying with that family, I would be considered insane at the very least. There is nothing I can do. No matter how much you ask me…there will be nothing I can do."

Enishi let out a low whistle.

"It's that bad, huh?" He murmured, and Shunsui sighed.

"Then I guess it can't be helped." He reflected. "I'm sorry, Ryuu-kun. I didn't realise it was like that."

"I do not like Shihouin and I do not feel inclined to help him." Ryuu admitted. "But even if I did, there would be nothing I could do except anger my Clan by trying."

"Is the Shihouin position that rocky?" Enishi asked, and Juushirou shrugged.

"I guess we'll find out." He said helplessly, and Shunsui nodded.

"I guess we will." He agreed sadly. "I don't suppose there's very much we can all do in any case. Even if we wanted to…I think it's probably gone far too far for that."


	30. Hirata's Resolve

**Chapter Twenty Nine: Hirata's Resolve**

Genryuusai's Academy.

Seimaru stood at the top of the rise, gazing down malevolently towards the old Yamamoto estate that spread out across the lands below his line of sight. He narrowed his eyes, making out the distinctive architecture of a once Noble manor now given over to extreme ideas and radical strategies by one individual who, in his view, had been given far too much time and freedom to create them.

So this was the place, was it? The place where the traditions set in stone over the past few centuries were being so wilfully chipped away at by the old man and his dangerous dreams for Seireitei's future?

He frowned, shaking his head as if to clear it.

In his previous trip to District One, he had not come so close to the school for fear of his presence there being misconstrued, but then, of course, he had not had any need to. Aitori had been there – Aitori who had been easy to manipulate with promises of security, money and even the potential of lucrative marriage alliances for his favoured nephew Tomoyuki into the thriving melee of Endou-ke life. It had not been difficult to make the pragmatic Aitori realise his family's vulnerabilities, or to play to his dissatisfaction over being expected to operate out of loyalty far more than out of just payment.

But Midori had stopped that. Midori had swept through District One like a hurricane, taking Aitori from the equation, and Seimaru had had to think again.

The bitch's aura was nowhere around, though if he focused hard he thought maybe he could detect the faintest flickerings of her presence dispersed on the summer breeze. So she had come to the school, then. To see her brother? Or to do something more sinister?

Either way, Seimaru knew that he couldn't worry about that too much now.

He slipped his hand into the patterned _obi_ of his robes, pulling out the small vial that Aizen had given him before he had left the Endou manor and ridden breakneck across the countryside the previous day. He had not brought servants with him this time, determined to make as little fuss as possible in the local town, yet he knew that just walking into the school itself would be considered suspicious. Mindful of the importance of his task, he had not dressed in the usual finery his position dictated, and though the fabrics were still of the best quality, he found it trying to be out in public in anything less than the elaborate attire of a Clan heir.

Still, for now he had to stick with it. Too much was at stake, and he was running out of time.

He had to have another strategy.

He had to find Tomoyuki.

He sighed, sliding the vial back into its safe place inside the folds of his rich clothing.

This was dirty work – assassin's work. Work he was above in all respects of birth and position, yet in the end it had fallen to him to take action himself. Even his grandfather had not perceived the full scope of Seimaru's ambitious plans – and for the time being, it was better that way. Midori may be gone, and Aitori dead. But there were other options. Other spokes to the wheel. And the scheme was far from dead.

He sauntered down the pebbly pathway towards the school gates, his head held high as he reflected on how he would explain his sudden appearance in District One. The answer was an obvious one, he realised quickly – that he had heard of Aitori's bloody death and had come fearing the safety of his blood kinsman, Endou Hirata, in the first year class.

Whether they believed him or not really didn't matter at this stage. They would have no reason to refute his claim, after all – and without hard proof there was very little anyone could do to stop him going where and doing what he liked.

As he drew closer to the school gates, he found himself aware of the tiniest trace of blood scent on the wind, and as he interpreted this unexpected evidence of a late night tussle in the school grounds, his lips thinned.

Well, so something had already started then, had it? Was it Midori?

He frowned, shaking his head.

No, the taint was wrong. It wasn't a woman's blood. Yet it was undeniably Shihouin – and with a jolt, he realised why the fragments of discarded reiatsu around the area felt familiar.

_Well, Kai-kun. Did you cross your sister's path too – or more likely, did you seek to create one for her and get cut down in the process? I was right to think you might be a liability. Too young and idealistic. Well, no matter. You were no longer of use to me after Aitori died – if you die of your wounds, so be it. I have other things to concern me. _

_  
_His eyes narrowed malevolently.

_  
After all, hopeless you may be as an assassin – but even if you tried to tell anyone about our meetings, it would only rebound on you and your kin far more than it would ever touch me or mine. You're smart enough, I think, to know that. I am not concerned with you this time – keep out of my way and I will not finish the job whatever assailant began last night._

He approached the entrance gate, and as he did so, two young men stepped forwards, their _hakama_ marking them out as one of Genryuusai's own military retainers from the core of District One's own Clan headquarters. At the sight of them, derision flickered in Seimaru's pale eyes, and he paused, glancing from one to the other.

"Excuse me, sir, but we're under instruction not to let any enter here." The taller of the two men stood forward, his fingers curled around the hilt of his _asauchi_ as he did so. "Not unless it's with Genryuusai-sama's explicit instruction."

"I see. Genryuusai-sama's explicit instruction." Seimaru spoke softly, glancing the man up and down as he did so. Then he chuckled, slowly shaking his head.

"Do you even know, then, to whom it is you are speaking?"

"Unless Genryuusai-sama has given instruction, we are not to move from this gate, sir." The second man chimed in, bowing his head respectfully. "That is our order and one we must obey."

"You are very diligent, I must say, sticking so closely to your master's words. I commend you." A nasty little smile curled at the corners of Seimaru's lips, even as he began to release flickers of his dark, stifling reiatsu. Uncertainty flared across the two guards' expressions, and Seimaru found himself pitying them their pathetic, powerless existences. He could kill them without even trying, yet he knew that to do so would be to draw unwanted attention to his coming. At the back of his senses, his zanpakutou's spirit roared for blood, but Seimaru ignored it, knowing that this time diplomacy and position would have to win through over swift and decisive swordsmanship.

Carefully he unfastened the pendant that hung around his neck, wrapping the fine gold chain around his fingers as his thumb brushed the surface of the family's crest. It had been special crafted for him by the finest goldsmiths in District Seven, with the kanji that comprised his name set against the shield that had overshadowed and guided his life since he had been old enough to understand what it meant. It was more expensive and precious than the entire rest of his attire, but more importantly it was as good a form of identification as an oath from the head of the District himself, and he smiled mockingly, holding it out for the nearest guard to take.

"I am outside of my district, and do not expect a common guardsman to know me by face and name the moment you see me for the first time." He said softly. "But you will recognise this emblem and understand that I am not someone you should prevent from passing. My name is Endou Seimaru and I am the heir to District Seven. I have come here on urgent business – and I would like to be let past."

"E...Endou-sama!" At the sight of the pendant, the guard's eyes widened, and he bowed his head. "I..."

"We are sorry if we have offended you, Endou-sama." The second man interjected quickly. "Only we were under instruction..."

"Do you suspect, then, a man from such elevated pedigree and heritage to be here with ulterior motives?" Seimaru's eyes became flinty. "I am not accustomed to that. Do you not think that my position puts me above that kind of doubt and suspicion?"

The two men exchanged troubled glances, then stepped back from the gate, creating an opening by which the young noble could enter.

"Of course we do not consider you in such a way, Endou-sama. It is simply that we were not expecting you…we had had no message of your coming from Genryuusai-sama."

"I have come at rather the last minute, on account of hearing some disturbing news in this region." Seimaru told him frankly, slipping his pendant back around his throat and sliding the gold crest once more into the folds of his clothing. "With a teacher murdered my lord Grandfather, _head of the Endou-ke_, was concerned as to whether this is a safe place at all for my cousin to be studying. We would all hate for anything untoward to happen to him – and so in Grandfather's stead I came in person to ensure that all here was as it should be."

With this he swept past the awestruck guards and into the grounds, inwardly marvelling at the stupidity of Genryuusai's officials.

_Probably they have been told to stand in the way of any strangers entering the school, considering recent events. But with my family's crest, I am no stranger. And they will not refuse an Endou, for they know what it would mean to cross me should I choose to release my blade._

His eyes narrowed.

_Nobody thought to tell me that Midori too had a zanpakutou, until now. But even she could surely not match up to the skill of my own – after all, she is only a woman and lacks the strength to go up against a trained man in armed combat. Aitori may have been intelligent, but he was not a fighter. I would be a different matter and there is nobody in this school bar Genryuusai himself who could think of opposing me._

He frowned, knowing that the guardsman would soon alert the school to the fact they had a noble visitor.

_I don't have a lot of time to skulk around and find out what I want to know. Curse this – if only I had been able to get better word to Tomoyuki…still, he should expect my coming. Even if Kai is useless, I still have hopes of the one Aitori valued so highly. He should be ready to meet with me and discuss the next step of our plan – he at least is one in whom I can place some faith._

* * *

Well, it was better now than not at all.

Hirata stood for a moment outside of the Healing Bay, gathering his courage as he made up his mind. Then, as if hardening his resolve inside of him, he pushed his glasses purposefully up his nose, reaching across for the handle of the door and sliding it carefully back on its runners.

He took a deep breath, stepping into the airy, bright room It was another beautiful summer's day, regardless of all that had lurked in the shadows the previous night, and he felt somewhat comforted by the sunlight that streamed through the windows.

The chamber was deserted, aside from an occupant in the furthermost sickbed, and Hirata's brows knitted together, stalking across the wood before his courage gave out. Shunsui's words from the night before rang clearly across his senses, and he knew that now better than any other time was his chance to talk to his Shihouin classmate.

At least, before things spiralled out of control for all concerned.

At first it seemed that Kai was sleeping, but at Hirata's approach he stirred, turning his head and opening muzzy golden eyes as he stared at his classmate in drowsy confusion.

"Hirata?" He murmured, and Hirata nodded, hesitantly dropping down beside the bed.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Shihouin-kun." He said softly. "But I wanted to...to talk to you...about..."

"I don't think that you do." In a moment, clarity had sharpened Kai's clouded gaze, and he shook his head. "Not out loud. Not here. Do you?"

"There's nobody else here."

"No, not presently. But there may be at any time. This is not a secure place to discuss anything...and you would do better not to mention them at all."

Hirata eyed his companion for a moment, taking in the tension that prickled through the injured boy's body. He was still hurting from the previous night's injury, but even so, there was a strength and purpose to him that the younger student had not seen before. He frowned, then took a deep breath into his lungs.

"I suppose that's true." He said quietly. "But even so...Kyouraku-kun did tell me what you said. And it's all right. You can call me a mouse if you like. I...I don't mind. Because it is true. I'm useless and weak and frightened of almost everything. And..."

He faltered, then bent closer, lowering his voice so it was barely more than a whisper.

"And I...I know there's no reason to ask you to." He murmured. "But you know...about...things...and..."

"I have no intention of talking to anyone about anything that doesn't concern my Clan, Hirata." Kai said frankly, reaching out a robe-clad arm to push the younger boy back. "I know why you came here, and it's all right. I'm not going to spill that story. It's not for me to do."

His eyes narrowed.

"But I was right, then. You did know more...than you were telling."

Hirata shook his head.

"I know everything, now." He said honestly. "But only because Aitori-sensei was killed and because I met with your sister in the forest. That's the truth."

"Then...?" Kai looked startled, and Hirata offered a faint smile.

"I took something from Aitori-sensei's house before I alerted anyone to the fact he was dead." He admitted softly. "And I'm telling you that because I don't...I don't want you to keep mistrusting me. If I tell you something that could get me into trouble, you'll know that I'm on your side and I have been since then. Maybe since before. I told Midori-sama that I'd be her ally and if I can, I will. Father believed in her and so do I - if Father makes a judgement, he's usually right. And I...myself, I want to support her. And you, too."

He paused, then,

"I won't say the name, but even so, I know what _he_ planned. What _he_ wanted you to do." He added grimly. "And I can't forgive it. I don't like it. I hate him for it. For what _he_ wants to do to people like Ukitake-kun and Sensei and everything here that's going to one day save Soul Society. But I'm not strong enough to do anything about it. All I can do is hide the evidence and hope it protects everyone else I care about if I do."

He sighed.

"I know you spoke to him." He added. "But I'm not working with him at all. And I never have. I never will. No matter what happens. I'm decided, Shihouin-kun. No matter what happens, this Endou is allied to Shihouin Midori. And...and to Shihouin Kai. If you'd want the feeble alliance I can offer."

Kai stared at him for a moment, then he pursed his lips.

"A lot goes on in your head that you don't talk about, doesn't it?" He asked, and Hirata flushed red.

"Grandmother said that to me, before I left here." He admitted sadly. "She told me that I was weak and pitiful but at least she had faint hope that what went on inside my head showed promise of something more. I don't know though, in the end. I don't want to fail my family, but..."

"In a sense, we're in the same place, aren't we?" Kai murmured, and Hirata nodded.

"That's why I came to see you." He agreed. "I don't know what I can do for you or for your kin, Shihouin-kun. But I hope you believe me, when I say that Midori-sama is my ally. I won't betray her. I haven't yet and I don't intend to. Even...even if that means...crossing _him_. Because what _he_ wants to do...I can't let him do it. No matter what happens. I can't let him take the Academy away."

"Don't you mean, you can't let him take _Ukitake_ away?" Kai raised an eyebrow, and Hirata frowned, then nodded.

"That too." He said seriously. "Ukitake-kun is stronger than I'll ever be in a lot of ways. But he gives me strength, and little by little maybe I'll find more of it. He wasn't biased against me from the start, and I've never had that before - someone looking at me as me and not as either a barbarian's kinsman or a poor shadow of my family's ruthless pedigree. He's always just seen me as Hirata, and I've started to think that means maybe I can make decisions of my own."

He sighed.

"Somehow. If I stay here, with him and everyone else." He added. "Because he's not afraid of things. And if he's not, and I see that...maybe I'll not be, either."

Kai's lips twitched into a slight smile, then he held out his hand, clasping Hirata's thin fingers in his own sword-calloused ones.

"We're allies, then." He said frankly. "Whatever it brings. But listen, Hirata. The Shihouin got themselves into this. They may or may not get themselves out. But the idea behind it...it wasn't ours. That side of it...wasn't us. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes. I know that." Hirata agreed sadly, slipping his fingers free of Kai's grasp. "Which is why I hate that I'm protecting_ him_ still. But right now there's nothing else I can do."

"Me either." Kai's eyes narrowed. "Except leave it to Midori-nee and hope that she can salvage some of our family's pride. That's all."

Hirata nodded his head.

"I should go. I don't know that I should be here without permission anyway." He murmured. "But I'm glad I did come. And I'm glad you talked to me, Shihouin-kun. Because I've never been on any side against you or your family. And I wanted you to know that for sure."

"Last night you knew Tomoyuki was after blood, didn't you?"

"When you grow up with the Endou, it's the first thing that springs to mind." Hirata agreed bitterly. "Yes. And I would have come, only..."

"No, it would have been bad if you had. You're not a fighter right at the moment, after all. And it would've made it suspicious." Kai shook his head. "But...I guess I owe you something for that foresight at the very least."

He grinned, a sheepish, awkward look on his face.

"When I'm fit, I'll help you." He offered, embarrassment clear in his eyes. "With your Ouyoudou. As thanks. Because Shihouin repay their debts...if they can. And I think...I have a bigger one to repay to you than either of us really realised before."

Hirata looked startled, then he smiled, nodding his head hard enough that his glasses slipped down his nose, and Kai snorted.

"I can see we'll have a lot to do." He murmured resignedly, though there was warmth in his gaze where earlier there had been censure, and at the sight of it Hirata felt reassured, safe in the knowledge that now his classmate was teasing him as a friend, not singling him out as a potential enemy.

"I'd like it, if you don't mind." He agreed now. "Thank you, Shihouin-kun. I hope your wound heals soon."

With that he left the Healing Bay, hurrying down the hallways towards the old servant's door. It was no longer any such thing, of course, and was used by the students on frequent occasions when they were running late for class as a short cut exit across the grounds to the wing that held the bulk of the theory classrooms on the western side of the estate. Although Shunsui and Juushirou had disappeared soon after breakfast to rendezvous with Shunsui's older brother before his departure back west, he knew Ryuu and Enishi were in the common room, Ryuu having challenged Sora to another battle of shougi and Enishi having volunteered to play referee.

_Though I'd rather be with Ukitake-kun, I suppose this time I can't complain about it._

He pushed open the door, stepping out into the sunlight.

_Sensei hasn't done anything about his fighting on campus yet, after all – and losing him for a little while to meet a Clansman is better than having him put in confinement or something like that. Especially when it was Onoe-kun who was at fault. Still, Sensei probably knows that better than anyone. Maybe he's waiting till Tokutarou-sama leaves. Or maybe he doesn't intend on punishing Ukitake-kun at all, considering everything that happened late last night._

"Well, well. Look who I've found."

A voice cut across his senses at that moment and he froze, the words chilling him to the bone as for the first time he felt the distinctive flickering of his older cousin's dark reiatsu. As he slowly turned to face his companion, staring at him rather like a rabbit caught in car headlamps, Seimaru laughed, derision and amusement in his pale eyes.

"Yes, you look much the same as ever." He murmured, crossing the distance between them in swift, smooth strides and reaching out to grasp Hirata's arm before the younger boy could think to run. "Scared and pointless and all by yourself. I suppose even a school full of people isn't enough to find someone who's willing to spend time in the company of a weak, shivering coward, is it?"

"Seimaru-kun." At length Hirata found words, swallowing hard as his throat went suddenly dry. Inwardly he cursed himself for letting his guard down so readily. A lot had happened, after all, in the last twenty four hours. And, as he stared up at his cousin in consternation, he realised that Seimaru's coming was a logical step. Something he should have forseen...something he should have expected.

After all, he knew Seimaru better than anyone else involved in this. And he knew what his older cousin was capable of.

His blood ran cold, and he took an instinctive step back, feeling the cold brick of the school wall as a barrier up against his spine. He could not evade Seimaru's grasp, however, and the other's eyes became slits, as his fingers tightened cruelly around Hirata's skinny arm.

"I have business with you." He said softly. "And it won't wait."

Before Hirata could respond, the world around him twisted and span, rushing through his head in a dizzy haze that made him nauseous and giddy. Colours and lights flooded his senses, and he let out a faint whimper of fear, stumbling as he tried to regain his balance. Somewhere nearby, he heard Seimaru's cruel laugh, and then, with a jolt, felt his body falling to the ground with a hard, sense-jolting thump.

For a moment he just sat there, his ears ringing and his vision blurring, and he reached tentatively up to where his glasses usually rested, finding them gone.

"No spectacles are going to be strong enough to make you see your way out of this one." Seimaru said derisively, and at the sound of his voice, Hirata froze, realising with a sudden jerk that he was no longer in the school grounds. Instead of grass beneath his knees he felt nothing but hard wood flooring, and he glanced around him, making out the hazy edges of four walls at each side. Though he could not focus on them, somehow he still knew where they were.

"Aitori-sensei's house." He whispered, a chill running through him, and Seimaru laughed, reaching down to pull him to his feet.

"So you're not completely blind without them. Good. That's a promising sign." He said frankly, giving him a cruel shake before releasing his grasp. "Because I have a job for you, Hirata-kun. A duty by blood to the Clan your father thinks isn't good enough to train you. We're going to prove it, you and I, just how much of an Endou you really are. Once and for all."

He slipped his hand into his _obi_, and Hirata's eyes widened as he made out the faint outline of what he held in his hands. Although his vision was all the more compromised in the dimly lit chamber, his spiritual senses were not, and even from this distance he could sense the barest flickers of something ominous resting between his cousin's fingers.

Something as ominous as Seimaru's own aura itself was confined deep within that tiny glass vial.

"That..."

"I think 'reidoku' is the current popular expression." Seimaru said softly, holding the vial in front of Hirata's nose and giving it a little shake. "So you can feel it, can you? The number of individuals whose spirit energy was sacrificed to test and perfect this substance? Your senses are sharper than Grandfather believes, after all. What a shame they're locked away inside a coward's mind and a pathetic body. Otherwise you might've been much more useful."

He rested his free hand on his cousin's shoulder, and Hirata tensed, feeling the prickle of danger running through his companion's reiatsu.

"The one thing that you've always had is intelligence." He said softly. "You don't need me to explain what happens next, do you?"

Hirata swallowed hard, his throat dry as he gazed up as his companion in alarm, and slowly Seimaru nodded his head.

"Inside this vial is a very potent, special form of the reidoku the Shihouin-ke have so carelessly been littering around District One." He said quietly. "You can be under no illusions about that, being in as close proximity to Tomoyuki and Kai as you have been. You know full well that the Shihouin-ke are mere inches away from collapsing. However..."

His eyes narrowed.

"However, that jezebel Midori slipped my net and I can only assume she's travelled East in order to salvage her family as best she can before the hammer falls." He said softly. "That won't do. I intend on taking hold of District Two in the Endou's name - and I intend to put an end once and for all to this Academy idea. I can feel Midori's spirit, flickering around this area. Maybe, if she makes it back in time, she'll get the agreement and seal of her Clan. But if something were to happen in the meantime..."

He leaned across, sliding the vial of poison into Hirata's _obi_.

"Nobody would suspect a mouse like you." He whispered, drawing his head close to Hirata's ear so that the scared boy could feel his cousin's breath against his neck. "Nobody would have any reason to connect you to the Shihouin or the reidoku at all. All you have to do is ensure that this gets to Genryuusai. Being his student, that shouldn't be hard - should it?"

"I won't hurt Sensei!" Hirata's head shot up at this, defiance flaring in his pale eyes, and Seimaru let out a low, derisive chuckle, slowly shaking his head.

"Do you think you can defy me? Defy your Clan? Defy Grandfather?" He demanded. "Do you know what the Endou do to people who betray them, Hirata-kun? You are not in District Seven now. Grandmother's shadow can only shield you so far...you have no one to protect you here."

Hirata swallowed hard, his heart clenching in his throat at the menace in the older boy's words.

"I don't want to be part of this." He murmured. "This is your problem. It's not mine."

"And if I kill you, whose problem does it become then?"

Hirata felt cold fingers tap against the skin of his throat, and he flinched, forcing his rising panic under control as he faced Seimaru bravely.

"Yours, still." He said, his words uneven yet somehow he managed to speak them anyway, summoning every inch of courage that he'd ever had as he raised his pale eyes to his companion's. In the back of his mind, he drew on his conversation with Kai, and his own inner resolve, and he clenched and unclenched his fists, praying inwardly that he had the strength to resist.

"If you kill me, you'll have to find another assassin anyway."

"True enough." Seimaru acknowledged. "I would have rather have used Tomoyuki, but it seems from general gossip around that school that he's acted rashly and become somewhat indisposed. You wouldn't be my first choice, but for the time being you seem to be the only choice. That's the only reason I haven't simply broken you with my bare hands."

He glared at his cousin venomously.

"Though I might be tempted to take the gamble anyway, given that it's you." He muttered. "Given that I've wanted to snap your scrawny neck for a long time, but never had the occasion present itself to do it."

He smiled, a cold, bitter smile.

"Your Father would break his heart if he thought his son was going to die in such a remote place as this." He reflected. "The Shihouin may be assassins, Hirata, but the Endou are warriors. And there's no place in our ranks for weak specimens like you."

Hirata did not reply, staring at him mutely, and Seimaru sighed.

"It seems you've become a little more obstinate and defiant since you left. Perhaps you've finally entered adolescence and started growing a spine." He murmured. "No matter. I don't care how you feel about it. The order is still the same. I'm your superior. And I will not be defied."

He grasped Hirata tightly by the shoulders, nails digging through the fabric of the _hakama_ and into the boy's flesh below. Hirata winced, fighting not to cry out, as Seimaru bent his head towards his cousin's, his pale gaze boring deep into the younger boy's.

"You'll take the reidoku and you'll do as you're told." He said softly. "If you're caught, you can deal with the consequences. But listen to me, and listen well. You will act, and you won't defy me. Because you're not the only person I might be tempted to erase from existence if you do."

Hirata tensed, staring up at Seimaru in abject horror.

"Yes. You understand." Seimaru nodded. "I know, you see, how much you cling to that District boy. Kai told me himself, the last time we spoke, when he accused me of using you as a spy. I didn't realise it then, but having heard from Tomoyuki since, I've come to understand. You've latched onto him because you're too pathetic to stand on your own too feet and hold your head up proudly. And that works just perfectly into my hands. Because if you don't do as I tell you, Hirata-kun - you might find that your little friends start to disappear one by one. Starting with the District boy. Ukitake Juushirou."

"No..." Hirata whispered. "Seimaru-kun...you..."

"I can and I will, if you don't do as you're bidden."

Seimaru tapped his hand against Hirata's _obi_.

"Act and don't get caught. I'll wait for you to report to me that the deed is done. You have two days. If you don't succeed in that time...if you can't carry out this one useful duty to your family - your companions _will _pay the price. And so will you. You can think it out for yourself...what exactly you want to do."

He offered Hirata a chilling smile.

"Two days." He echoed. "Here, in Aitori's mausoleum. I will be waiting for you, Hirata. If you fail to come by sundown on the second day, with news that you've succeeded....you can say an eternal farewell to your District born friend. And any and all others who were foolish enough to become your friend in the meantime."

With that he was gone with a flurry of reiatsu, and Hirata found himself alone in the stripped out building where the Hohou instructor had died.

"Seimaru..." He sank to the floor, tears beginning to spill down his cheeks as he struggled to prevent himself from full blown hysteria.

_Now what do I do? If I don't...if I don't...Ukitake-kun will...but if...I can't...Sensei..._

He buried his head in his hands, his body shaking with the force of the shock. No, it wasn't just shock, he realised bitterly, but hatred. True hatred for the cousin who had always bullied him, and who was now forcing him to make an impossible choice.

Then his demeanour stiffened, and he raised his head as a sudden memory flitted across his senses.

_There is one more choice. Just one more. One more chance. And it's the only one I have. _

He got to his feet, dusting his _hakama_ down as he hardened his resolve.

_I don't know if I can succeed, but I have to do something. This isn't something I can ask for help for. I've already involved other people too much in my own problems, so this one I'll deal with alone. And if there's a consequence...I'll face Seimaru alone, too. Even if I'm not ready to...if I fail, that's what I'll do. Even if it means never coming back here, or never seeing Ukitake-kun again. If it means he doesn't get hurt, then it's what I have to do. I promised myself, after all - that I wouldn't let him get hurt._

He swallowed hard, feeling fear coursing through every inch of his body.

_After all, I'm an Endou too, aren't I? So I'll act. I'll act in the only way I can. And hope...just hope...that it's enough. That I can succeed in time...before anyone else has to get hurt!_

* * *

"So this is the District prodigy that so many people have been talking about."

Tokutarou leant up against the wall of the school building, casting his two companions a thoughtful look as he did so. Shunsui seemed more at ease today, though there was still a flicker of preoccupation in his dark eyes. Still, it was the boy's companion who attracted most of the nobleman's curiosity. The District born student, Ukitake Juushirou.

He was as Sora had said, Tokutarou reflected. A thin, frail looking boy with a shock of odd white hair beginning to get straggly at the ends, and a pale, almost sallow complexion that told of his frequent ill health. At Tokutarou's approach, he had hurriedly bowed his head, yet in the moment before Tokutarou had seen the clever hazel eyes and realised that despite the fragility of the boy's aura, there was something steely and strong deep within his core. He was not someone to be taken lightly - District born or otherwise. And Tokutarou found that he was even more intrigued by this oddity with every passing moment.

"Raise your head, Ukitake. You don't need to bow to me, especially when I've asked to meet you so specifically."

Juushirou reddened, raising his head and eying Tokutarou doubtfully.

"I...didn't want to be rude." He murmured. "I mean...you...you're head of Eighth District, and..."

"I'm also Shunsui's brother." Tokutarou rested his hands warmly on the boy's thin shoulders. "And as such, I'm grateful to you for having such a positive influence on him."

He grinned.

"I also feel I probably owe you an apology, too." He added, glancing at Shunsui as he did so. "For any and all bother he's caused you since the term began."

"Bother?" Juushirou looked startled, even as Shunsui pulled a sheepish face in his elder's direction. "Shunsui isn't a bother, Tokutarou-sama. I mean...maybe sometimes he...but we're friends. And he's helped me too. _I'm _more of a bother, probably, in the long run."

"I highly doubt that." Tokutarou shook his head, a wry smile touching his lips. "My brother is something of an expert in that department - I'd defy anyone to even come close to matching him."

"Thanks, Nii-sama." Shunsui offered another graphic grimace. "Your affection is overwhelming."

"Well, I'm just relieved that you're developing a little common sense." Tokutarou chuckled, reaching across to ruffle his brother's curly hair. "And that you were sensible enough last night to help your classmate rather than get yourself killed."

"Hey, I told you not to do that!" Shunsui objected, and Juushirou laughed.

"No, _I_ was the one who got into fisticuffs, in the end." He said ruefully, fingering the faint bruises that had begun to appear on his throat. "But so far Sensei hasn't called me up over it, so I'm hoping he's not too angry."

"Given the circumstances, I doubt he intends to punish you at all." Tokutarou reflected, and Shunsui nodded.

"Nii-sama's right." He agreed. "Onoe's still in isolation, after all."

"Onoe Tomoyuki will be removed from the school, without a doubt." Tokutarou's expression became serious. "If Genryuusai-sensei was in any doubt about that decision, both I and Unohana Retsu-sama have made it clear to him our feelings as heads of Clans. There are those we care about studying here, and a hot-headed assassin armed with a Shihouin blade is not someone we want our kin to be studying with."

"What about Shihouin-kun?" Juushirou looked anxious, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Kai-kun didn't go out to fight anyone. He just got caught up in it when it happened." He said wisely. "He won't be thrown out, even if he does get into trouble for breaking bounds to see his sister."

"I agree." Tokutarou nodded. "Besides, he seems to be a friend of Shunsui's," He paused, shooting his brother a wry smile. "So I suppose I have to believe he's more than simply an assassin in training."

"Do you think things will start to calm down, now?" Juushirou asked softly, and Tokutarou frowned.

"Not for District Two. It's just beginning." He responded grimly. "Midori-dono has a long way to go even if she gets control of her Clan. I think she likely will succeed at that, at the very least. But in terms of what her kin have been doing..."

"It's annoying, knowing that it's not just her kin and yet there's nothing we can do about it." Shunsui muttered, and Juushirou sighed.

"But if we did, other people might get hurt instead." He responded sadly, and Tokutarou saw his brother shoot his friend a thoughtful look.

"Then that's it, after all." The boy reflected. "Protecting Hirata is a big part of this, isn't it?"

"Hirata's my friend." Juushirou nodded. "And he's not involved in any of it. But if it blew up..."

He faltered, and Tokutarou sighed.

"Our neighbours to the West are not pleasant individuals, but they cover tracks very well." He agreed. "I don't know this 'Hirata', that people keep mentioning though. Is he a friend of yours too, Shunsui?"

"I suppose so, when he's not looking daggers at me for stealing Juu away." Shunsui grinned. "He's a tad possessive and clingy, but he's harmless enough. Just young, awkward and homesick. Juu adopted him as a substitute little brother right at the start of term, and little by little he's coming out of his shell. He's a smart kid, and he's not your typical Endou at all. Yes, I'm fond of him. I think Juu's right - he's not involved in any of this and never has been from the start."

"Then it seems that the rumour of a rift in the Endou-ke is true." Tokutarou reflected, and Juushirou nodded.

"Hirata's mentioned it too." He agreed. "That the family is split in its views and actions."

"Well, I can only hope that means one day common sense will get the upper hand and I can relax the border controls between my land and theirs." Tokutarou said heavily. "The last heir to District Seven caused me a good deal of trouble a few years ago, and his son seems just as much of a problem. But since your Kyouko came to me, Shunsui, I've had several other strays running scared from the other border - begging for sanctuary from the Endou-ke. Several of them have mentioned seeing kin kidnapped or killed and most of them know someone who's just disappeared without a trace. I don't know what's going on in that District - or if any of these people are spies. But when you have a widow clutching a blood-soaked baby and begging for sanctuary, what can you do but let them pass?"

"The Endou really don't like the idea of District children with spiritual talent, do they?" Juushirou said sadly, and Shunsui snorted.

"Understatement." He said categorically. "Hirata aside. But within their own land, they can do as they please. They're not in breach of Council rule to slaughter their own citizens if they happen to have a law in place in District Seven forbidding anyone there below Clan level from possessing above a certain amount of spiritual power. They would just be upholding that law, no matter how twisted. And the Council couldn't do a damn thing to prevent it because the way Seireitei was split up was designed to give each Clan sovereignty over a section of land."

"Shunsui's right." Tokutarou nodded. "In the meantime, refugee camps are growing up near the border, and our Uncle's former estate has all but been turned into a hospice to care for them. It's a problem indeed, and I wonder very much whether the same is happening in Sixth District. Only I don't have the kind of communication with the Kuchiki-ke to send a messenger to find out - and that messenger would have to cross District Seven to get there in any case."

"Clan really do do some horrible things." Juushirou murmured, and Tokutarou nodded.

"But you shouldn't feel that you - or anyone like you - is at fault for it." He said softly, interpreting the flickers of guilt in the boy's hazel eyes. "I've heard from a lot of people how you're Genryuusai-sensei's trail-blazer. He has hopes invested in you, and I think I can see why. If I didn't know you weren't born Clan, I'd not be able to determine it from your level of spiritual power. Even sitting here talking like this, it's easy to tell that what you have is on a par with most Noble born children. Perhaps it's even more than that. And you shouldn't let what's happening in other places affect what you do. It's not because of you that the Endou are killing people. It's because they're prejudiced and old-fashioned. Not because you're in the wrong."

Juushirou looked startled, eying him in surprise, and Shunsui grinned.

"Nii-sama's pretty smart too, when it comes down to it." He said off-handedly. "He's right, though. Just because you and the others who came here this year have caught people's attention doesn't mean any of you are to blame for deaths in any District."

"Perhaps it was a good thing, in the end, that Etsuo-san went with Midori-sama when she left District Seven." Juushirou murmured, and Shunsui became grave, nodding his head.

"I don't know why they didn't single her out." He agreed. "Maybe because she was a foreigner in the first place and they thought she might be spying for my Clan. But I'm glad she escaped too. Even if we're strangers now...I'm glad she's at least alive."

"Etsuo-san? Is that...?"

"Saku." Shunsui said simply, and Tokutarou nodded, understanding flooding his features.

"Your old friend." He murmured. "Well, Shunsui, sometimes parting happens that way. And speaking of which, another one will be coming quite soon. I can't stay much longer in District One - I'm leaving things to your mother who's more than capable of handling them...but I feel guilty leaving them for too long. I've done what I intended - so now I've met the District prodigy for myself, I can go home and gossip to Kyouki-sama to her heart's content."

"Kyouki-sama?" Juushirou stared, and Tokutarou nodded.

"My Shiba-ke kinswoman. The Head of District Five." He agreed ruefully. "She likes to know everything that's going on, and she'll certainly like to know all about you. She's very keen on the idea of District children being trained, so I think I can bring her positive news. Most of all, though, I'm happy that Shunsui's happier now than he was the last time I saw him. And if that's something to do with spending time with you - and your classmates - then I'm grateful."

"I don't know that..."

"Well, maybe, or maybe not." Tokutarou shrugged, sending Shunsui a grin. "But he'd never really talked to me about things before my visit here. Something's changed, and I'm not unhappy to see it. Maybe by the end of the year I'll be welcoming home a completely rehabilitated individual."

"You mean I _still_ don't get to come home until spring?" Shunsui affected a mock-hurt look, and Tokutarou nodded.

"I've learnt that going easy on you gets us nowhere. The rules are staying as they are." He agreed firmly. "You're not returning to District Eight before a year has passed. Understood?"

"Fine." Shunsui held up his hands, resignation in his dark eyes. "I...hey...what was that?"

He turned, his brows knitting together, and Tokutarou frowned, getting to his feet as he felt the faintest of sensations brush across his wits.

"Shunpo." He murmured. "Is that what you felt? Someone's shunpo?"

"I felt it too." Juushirou added. "But I didn't know...who it was."

"Me either, except I didn't like how it felt." Shunsui said blackly. "It sort of felt like...someone was here who shouldn't be."

"Undoubtedly." Tokutarou agreed grimly. "That was Endou Seimaru, Shunsui. The neighbour we've been so happily discussing."

"Endou...." Juushirou's eyes widened, and Shunsui bit his lip.

"_Seimaru_ was here?" He whispered. "And we didn't even know? I thought this guy wasn't as hot on spiritual matters as all that! How did he manage to get in?"

"Probably through the gate." Tokutarou remarked flatly. "With the seal of his family, nobody would dare refuse him. As for how he'd stayed undetected - maybe he's stronger than we gave him credit for. Nobody was expecting him, after all. And he must be trained to a high level, since he carries a _zanpakutou_ and apparently knows how to use it ...probably better than I do mine. Still, that he'd come here..."

"Is he looking for Midori-sama?" Juushirou wondered.

"I'm more worried about the fact that to get here he must have slipped through my District somehow." Tokutarou clenched his fists, anger surging through him. "Taking advantage of my absence, perhaps, and exploiting gaps in the defences. He knows that he's not welcome on my land - now or ever, not even on legitimate business. Damn him! Now he's here there's nothing I can do to touch him for trespass!"

"Kyouko!" Shunsui's eyes widened, but Tokutarou shook his head.

"Kyouko is safe at our manor. Even a brazen fool like Seimaru wouldn't go there just to find a serving wench." He reflected. "But he may have come after Midori. After all, she did leave ample evidence of her presence."

"Then we should warn Hirata, if he doesn't already know." Juushirou said anxiously. "So he can keep out of his way."

"Hirata was going to the common room with Kuchiki and Houjou, though." Shunsui pointed out. "Wasn't he?"

"He said something to me about going to see Shihouin-kun first." Juushirou shook his head. "So we might as well head to the Healing Bay and see if we can catch him. Shihouin-kun might need to know too, after all."

"Then I suppose this is where we say goodbye." Tokutarou observed. "Be careful, though, the both of you. I will go to Genryuusai-sensei and I will mention that Seimaru was here...so that steps can be taken to prevent him coming back. But he has undoubtedly left the grounds now...so here is probably safer than anywhere else where he's concerned. Stick together and don't do anything crazy - he might be passing through but he might not."

"We're not going to fight Seimaru." Shunsui assured him. "That's not on anyone's agenda. Don't worry, Nii-sama. I have a little more sense than that."

"I hope so." Tokutarou eyed him for a moment, then, "I'll walk with you as far as the main building anyway. Just in case."

"If he's gone, I don't suppose there's any danger." Juushirou mused, and Tokutarou frowned.

"Maybe not, but given last night's events, I'm not going to take a risk." He responded. "You especially might be in danger, if Seimaru was to descend on this place with any serious intent - whatever spirit power you might have, it's still only potential after all."

"I suppose so." Juushirou sighed. "I wasn't planning on fighting with him either, in any case."

For a while they walked across the grounds in silence, then Shunsui let out an exclamation, darting forward to scoop up something that had been glinting on the grass by the main building walls.

"Juu! Look!" He exclaimed, holding out what he had found, and at the sudden tension that washed through both student's auras, Tokutarou realised that there was some particular significance in the seemingly mundane pair of spectacles Shunsui now held between his fingers.

Juushirou's next words told him exactly why.

"Hirata." He murmured, his expression becoming one of consternation. "Those are Hirata's."

"And they're cracked. Right across the left lens." Shunsui held them out. "The shunpo we felt just now...would have been from around here. More or less. Wouldn't it?"

Juushirou took them gingerly, the apprehension in his demeanour growing with every moment as he digested his friend's meaning.

"Then were we wrong, after all?" He said softly, glancing at his classmate helplessly. "Did Seimaru not come looking for Midori-sama at all? Did...did he come looking for _Hirata_?"

-----

_**Author's Note**_

_Mwaahh...And you all thought it was coming to an end, didn't you...?_

_Also, gomen to anyone whose signed in review I didn't reply to. I've been stupidly busy lately and got very behind on all of those things so I hope you don't think me rude. As it is, I'm uploading chapters late :|  
_


	31. Vanished

**Chapter Thirty: Vanished**

It was getting late, and there was still no sign of Hirata.

Juushirou paused outside the door of the Healing Bay, trying to calm the panic that was stirring deep within him. Although he did not want to face it, his mind kept coming back to the same thing over and over again.

Seimaru was here. Hirata was gone. And Shunsui had been right. Seimaru _had_ come for Hirata after all.

He rubbed his aching chest absently, leaning up against the wall as he tried to put everything into perspective. That morning, he reflected darkly, he had begun to really feel the after effects of his fight against Onoe, and rich dark bruises had begun to appear across his chest and torso, tell-tale signs of the pressure the other boy had put on his delicate ribcage during the height of the struggle. Though there were faint purplish marks at his throat, the ones on his chest were growing blacker by the hour, and if he was honest to himself, as the day had worn on he had felt tired, mangled and borderline feverish.

But Hirata might be dead, or in trouble, and there was no way he could stand back and ignore that.

_And there's nothing I can do about how I feel. After a fight like that, I half-expected it to hit me sooner. I suppose worrying about Hirata isn't helping, either. Still, it can't be helped. Right now I've no time to baby myself and worry about little things like that. Shunsui and the others don't need to, either. I'm fine, just a bit out of sorts. And Hirata is the first priority...everything else can wait until he's safe._

He rubbed his chest again, processing the situation carefully.

Since Tokutarou's departure that morning, the two boys had been as active as they could be, checking all the places that Hirata might have chosen to conceal himself from his cousin. It had been Juushirou's idea that he might have dropped the spectacles in a hurry to conceal his whereabouts from Seimaru's senses - a vain hope that he had clung to regardless, not wanting to face the alternative.

Shunsui had been more sceptical, but had agreed that a search of the whole school wouldn't hurt, and they had begun at the Common Room to recruit Enishi and Ryuu as reinforcements. Sora, Naoko and Mitsuki had all been there, Sora having just been beaten by Ryuu at their third round of shougi, and once Juushirou had explained that Hirata was missing, the inquisitive young Shiba had immediately volunteered their services, suggesting that the girls go and check the forest land surrounding the school. Though Naoko had seemed a little put out at Sora's assumption they'd all help, she had not objected, and Juushirou had gratefully thanked them, knowing that the more help he could get, the better.

Ryuu had suggested reporting the disappearance to Genryuusai, uncharacteristic concern in his slate grey eyes, and Shunsui had agreed, volunteering to go with him and take the glasses as proof of their fears.

In the meantime, Juushirou and Enishi had divided up the school building between them, Enishi going to speak to his kin in the senior class and Juushirou checking the classrooms and other social areas, including the dorm where he had first found Hirata huddled up in his blankets so many months before. At length, he had gone to the Healing Bay, realising that he was running out of places to look.

He had not wanted to bother Kai, knowing that the boy was supposed to be resting and letting his injury heal. Yet knowing that Hirata had mentioned going to see him had turned the scale, and so Juushirou had put his hesitations aside, hurrying up the stairs to speak to the final member of Class One.

He pushed open the door, slipping inside and glancing around him for any sign of the attentive head of District Four. He did not know that, as of first thing that morning, Retsu had left District One for her own lands, set on discussing with them the matter of Midori's gamble before it came to Council session, and so had left governance of the Healing Bay to her assistants. None of them were around at that moment, however, and Juushirou found himself grateful, shutting the door softly behind him as he stepped into the room.

"I wondered how long it would take you."

Kai's voice startled him and he glanced up, surprise in his hazel gaze as he registered his classmate's expression. Kai was propped up by pillows, a book discarded on the covers beside him, and from the clouding in the boy's gold eyes, Juushirou immediately feared the worst. He swallowed hard, darting across the chamber and dropping down by his classmate's side.

"What's happened?" He murmured. "Where's Hirata? Shihouin-kun, if you know..."

"I don't know where he is." Kai shook his head. "But that's probably my fault as much as anything. You took long enough to come here...I thought you'd have come as soon as Hirata's reiatsu disappeared from the school."

"I didn't want to bother you unless I had to." Juushirou bit his lip, feeling the cold chill begin to creep up his spine and through his nerves. "What do you mean, your fault? He did come here this morning, then? To see you?"

"He did." Kai nodded slowly. "About things which aren't really your business. But even so..."

He sighed, flickers of pain crossing his brow as he did so.

"I didn't tell him one thing." He murmured. "Something Tomoyuki told me last night. Something I didn't really remember until after the kid had gone. Something important."

"Can you tell me what that something was?" Juushirou asked anxiously. "Because I know that we're not exactly friends, Shihouin-kun, and there are a lot of things you probably still would rather speak to Shunsui about than me. Only I'm worried something bad has happened to Hirata - or is going to. And I want to find him...before that something does."

Kai was silent for a moment, then he nodded.

"I shouldn't, but with things how they are, I will." He said quietly, his gold eyes dark and full of guilt. "And I'll do so clearly, even despite the risk. Tomoyuki told me last night that Seimaru was coming here, Ukitake. In everything that happened, it clean slipped my mind. Last night's still hazy in a lot of respects, and Unohana-sama used some pretty strong Kidou to knock out my pain last night, so that didn't help. But..."

He took a deep breath, then,

"I felt Seimaru, here, a while ago." He murmured. "And then I felt him disappear. After that, when I tried, I couldn't sense where Hirata was any more either. And it worried me. But I can't leave here to come tell anyone anything. Unohana-sama isn't here now - she left early this morning on some Clan business, and her assistants only tell me to sleep and leave anything else till I'm rested. They wouldn't listen."

He gestured to the book.

"They gave me that, but I can't focus on reading at the moment." He added helplessly. "I tried to get up, but it hurt too much and I felt too dizzy...I guess I've still not recovered the blood I lost yesterday, and I would've passed out if I hadn't laid down again pretty quick. So all I could do was wait. I thought you at least would know he'd gone."

"I do. I did. We found his glasses, and Shunsui thought Seimaru-sama had taken him somewhere." Juushirou said, his expression troubled. "But I know Hirata hates his cousin, and is afraid of him. So I didn't want to think that was it. Shunsui and Kuchiki-kun went to speak to Sensei - Houjou-kun and I have been searching the school building and Sora, Edogawa-san and Shikibu-san have been searching the grounds. But it's like he really has...vanished."

"You won't find him in the school. He's not here." Kai shook his head. "I know it and so do you."

"Yes." Juushirou admitted, feeling the fight run out of him at this blunt observation. "But it frightens me. I don't know where he is or what's happened. None of us thought Seimaru-sama would come after him...there seems no point!"

"Seimaru doesn't deserve to be called -sama. Not even by you." Kai said acerbically. "He's not someone to be trusted. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd even stab his own Grandfather in the back if he had to, let alone a cousin on a side of the family he apparently despises."

"We thought he might have come looking for your sister." Juushirou admitted, and Kai shook his head.

"I doubt that." He said darkly. "He'd be writing his own death warrant, I think, if he went looking for Nee-sama right at the moment. No. I don't think so. I don't know if he realises where she's gone or what she plans to do. But I...I'm sure it's not as simple as him passing through looking for my kin. He came for his. He came for Hirata. And it probably means he has a particular purpose in mind for him."

"Hirata-kun..." Juushirou bit his lip, then got to his feet.

"I need to go look for him."

"No, you don't." Kai grabbed hold of his arm, surprising the other boy with the amount of strength he managed to inject into his grasp. "You do not want to do anything of the kind. That'll play right into Seimaru's hands, if you do something so reckless as that."

"But..."

"If Seimaru has Hirata, that's an Endou matter." Kai's eyes narrowed. "Hirata told me himself this morning that no matter what, he wasn't going to let Seimaru have his way or hurt the Academy. Because of you, I think, more than anything. He said some pretty fond things about you, and he was really determined when he said it. If you went after him and you got hurt, he'd just feel like a coward again."

"Shihouin-kun, even if..."

"You didn't want Kyouraku to protect you, did you?" Kai released his hold, meeting his companion's gaze head on. "You didn't want him to interfere with your meeting my sister, or in fighting Tomoyuki last night. This is the same thing. Hirata has to prove himself sooner or later. He won't ally with Seimaru. I'm sure of that - I'd stake what honour my Clan have left on that fact. And you might be special among District kids, Ukitake. But you are _not_ a match for Endou Seimaru. Not yet, in any case."

Juushirou's expression became stubborn, and Kai sighed.

"You won't listen to me, will you?" He reflected. "But even so, I'm right. The kid has pride too. This morning, I think I saw it for the first time. That flicker of Endou blood that I'd not realised he had inside of him."

"What do you think Seimaru is going to do?" Ukitake eyed Kai apprehensively, and his companion shrugged.

"Probably, whatever it is involves threatening Hirata." He said frankly. "And since I'm not going to do it, and Tomoyuki's out of commission, I suspect it has something to do with the plot on Sensei's life."

"You think...he'd make Hirata..."

"I know he'd try to." Kai nodded. "But Ukitake. Listen. Before you go haring off anywhere, _listen_ to me. If that's the case...if Seimaru wanted Hirata to do that...the fact the kid isn't here isn't necessarily a bad sign."

"Meaning?" Juushirou was incredulous. "Shihouin-kun, if he's not here, it means..."

"Seimaru might have killed him." Kai agreed levelly. "And I know how you feel about that, because you're hopelessly sentimental and unprepared for the bloodthirsty world you've jumped into. But if I'm right, and Seimaru was trying to use Hirata that way - Hirata not coming back means that he's refused. It means he's held out for the things he believes in. You should be proud of him for that."

"Even if it gets him killed?" Juushirou snorted, shaking his head impatiently. "You Clan people really don't understand this, do you? He could have come back here and asked for help! He doesn't have to..."

"Tomoyuki's idea about your spirit power came from Seimaru." Kai cut across him flatly, fixing him with a searching gaze. "That was _Seimaru's_ doing - it was Seimaru who put it into his head. I know because he had the same conversation with me. Only I'm not as stupid as Tomoyuki, and I wasn't biting. Besides, it would've put my family at risk to raise that kind of rumour...it wasn't safe. But if you went after Hirata, can you imagine what it would mean? At the very least, anything Hirata might be doing to keep you away from Seimaru would be completely ruined. At worst, you and he might both be killed. Stop and think a moment, will you? You aren't the world's crusader. Not yet. You have a long way to go before you're strong enough to use your District morals to win that kind of fight."

Juushirou stared at his classmate, dismay in his hazel gaze, and Kai nodded.

"If Hirata doesn't come back, then he's either keeping his distance by choice, or he's been killed by Seimaru." He said quietly. "Whichever it is, it's a choice _he_ made. You like to butt into people's lives, but they have choices too. And sometimes pride is enough to make someone fight. Even if you don't understand that feeling - I'm sure even Hirata has pride."

Juushirou buried his head in his hands.

"I understand what you're saying." He murmured. "Last night, when I faced Onoe-kun, that was my pride as much as anything driving me on. And I know Hirata has his own pride too. I just...I can't accept it. I can't accept that Seimaru might've killed him, and I...we...couldn't do anything to help. He's my friend, dammit - I feel like if I accept what you've said, I've somehow let him down. Even...even betrayed him."

"You said Kyouraku had gone to tell Sensei, didn't you?" Kai asked, and Juushirou nodded.

"Then let Sensei handle any searches outside of the school." Kai advised. "For him to search for a missing pupil is a natural response, after all. And the people he can send will have a better chance of succeeding, since Seimaru won't want to do anything that creates actual evidence against him. He wouldn't think twice about killing _you_, but he might not want to cross District One's retainers."

"I suppose that's true." Juushirou sighed. "I still don't like it though. I know you're right, Shihouin-kun. Probably on every count. But even so..."

"A better thing right now is for Sensei to know that the attack on his life is probably still on." Kai said acerbically. "If Hirata's refused, it means Seimaru's got to look for someone else, or find another manner of doing it. But Seimaru's powerful and persuasive, and even if Tomoyuki's in confinement, it doesn't mean he's completely out of options. His aim is to destroy this Academy - he's not going to give up at the first hurdle."

"Not just that...also to destroy the Shihouin-ke and take over their land." Juushirou reflected, and Kai eyed him in consternation.

"Did Nee-sama tell you that?" He murmured, and Juushirou nodded.

"Yes. She did."

"Then she really _did_ ask you to be her ally, didn't she?"

"Whether it counts for anything or not, I suppose so."

"Then I have to acknowledge it too." Kai pursed his lips. "That you're her ally, so you're mine too. Regardless of your background, you really have been operating with Shihouin interests these last few days."

"Mm. I suppose." Juushirou nodded again. "But as I've said before, that doesn't affect you or I in the slightest. I don't want to be your ally by force. Right now, I'm grateful that you've told me what you have about Hirata and Seimaru. For now, that's foremost on my mind. I'm not trying to stake favourites with Clans or anything like that. I just...want everything to settle down properly without people getting hurt. It might be foolish, but it's how I feel."

Kai snorted.

"That way of thinking might get you killed." he said frankly.

"Maybe." Juushirou shrugged his shoulders. "But it was how I was raised and I've not seen anything since I've been here that makes it different. Clan people do some odd things and I don't understand all of the reasons for them yet. Maybe I never will - perhaps it's something I can't ever penetrate. But I do know that Clan people are still people regardless. You included. Hirata included. Kuchiki-kun and Shunsui and Houjou-kun too. And that's something I can relate to. You have families you care about, just like I do. You'll go to lengths to protect them, like I would."

He frowned.

"You might be right, about Hirata." He added softly. "But I'm not going to give up on him. I don't need you to tell me that he won't work for Seimaru, because I have faith in him. But I am worried about it. Even if you think I shouldn't protect him - Hirata is different from you or I. He's still a child, after all."

"In the eyes of Seireitei law, we're all children." Kai said flatly. "You and I as much as Hirata or anyone else. Even Houjou, although he's the closest to twenty of any of us."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't want the runt to be killed either." He admitted. "Not till I've repaid him the debt our Clan obviously owe him, in any case. But right now, anything else would be to play into Seimaru's hands. I'd go, if I could go, but I can't. And you should definitely not go."

"You know where he is after all!"

"No. I don't know." Kai shook his head. "Tomoyuki's the only one who might, and good luck getting to speak to him."

"Onoe-kun." Juushirou's brows knitted together, and he nodded.

"Thank you, Shihouin-kun." He said evenly. "I'll let you rest again now."

"Ukitake!" As Juushirou turned on his heel, Kai called out his name, and the white-haired boy paused in the doorway, casting him a questioning look.

"You aren't going to try and get to see Tomoyuki...are you?"

Juushirou offered him a smile, taking in the anxiety in his classmate's golden gaze.

"I'm not going to do anything stupid." He said simply. "But if I can't go outside of the school looking, I've got no choice but to keep looking inside instead. And if that means speaking to everyone and anyone who might know, well, then that's what I'll do."

With that he pulled back the door of the Healing Bay, stepping out into the hall and shutting it firmly behind him.

He took a deep breath, rubbing his temples as he considered the conversation.

"I have to speak to Onoe-kun. Or someone does." He muttered. "If he knows anything - anything at all...then we have to find out what."

To think was to act, and as the previous night's conversation crossed his thoughts, he frowned, turning and heading across the landing to the stairwell that lead to the senior dormitories.

Enishi had gone there already, he knew, but he was going with a specific errand in mind, and so he gathered his courage, running up the two flights to the uppermost floor inhabited by students that the school possessed.

There were only seven students currently in the senior class, all male and all of noble Clan level. Consequently, they shared rooms between two, with Yunosuke, as the effective 'head' having a room to himself. Jokingly referred to among his companions as his 'nest', it's entrance was an old panel door set back from the hall and raised up six or seven steps to a specially constructed chamber that jutted out slightly over the floors below. The rumours about the house's past often placed this as a 'hime's room, for it had a small balcony to the left hand side, and as Juushirou passed the little alcove that led that way, he pursed his lips ruefully.

Being a member of the Senior class did indeed bring with it privileges as well as responsibilities.

Although not officially designated as prefects, Juushirou knew that their duties often spread far beyond attending classes, and they were trusted to a high level not only when it came to overseeing lower year students but also with the security of the school as a whole. It was, Juushirou reflected, a crash course in what life was like in the real Gotei world, and a flicker of excitement had flared in his soul when he had first contemplated what it might be like to be one of this elite.

But that was a long way off yet. Even Yunosuke, who was currently in his sixth year, had had to get through a lot of hard work in order to reach senior status. The Senior Class was not a natural progression, after all. You did not simply get into it by dint of having been there a number of years. Only the most well learnt and advanced pupils were categorised in this special few - only those students ready to face Gotei life would be permitted to graduate from the Academy and enter the new Squads Genryuusai had gambled his reputation to set up.

Juushirou knew, for the ever-knowledgeable Sora had told him, that of the current Senior Class, only Nagoya Shirogane of the Kuchiki-ke had got there with less years hard study than Yunosuke. All of the other Senior students had been enrolled at the Academy for at least six years, and though a couple had summoned blades in that time, only Yunosuke had managed to release his_ zanpakutou_ to manageable shikai level.

It was not an easy path, not even if you happened to be born titled.

Juushirou's brows knitted together as he remembered Hirata once again.

_Perhaps even more difficult, then, if you are titled._

With that in mind, he sped up his pace, making his way along the hallway towards the chamber at the furthest end of the corridor. This was the room sacrosanct to the Seniors - their own private 'common room' or study, and where, he felt sure, at least one or two of them were probably gathered.

As he reached the door, he felt flickers of reiatsu from within and he steeled himself, pausing to catch his breath from his uncharacteristic flight across the school.

It would not do to choke after all, when he was putting his case to his elders.

He took a deep breath to steady his racing heart, and then raised his hand to knock on the hard, polished wood.

An unfamiliar voice called him in, and he bit his lip, sliding back the door and stepping hesitantly into the little chamber.

The room was brightly lit, and had obviously once been a nobleman's study, for the walls were panelled in far more expensive style than in any of the classrooms and above the window Juushirou could still make out the carved crest of the Yamamoto-ke giving a hint to the building's illustrious past. The chamber was simply furnished, yet it had a nice air to it, and each senior student had brought something of themselves to it, giving it a used, almost home-like feel. Training _asauchi_ hung on a rack on the furthest wall, their blades polished clean yet showing the tell tale signs of frequent and diligent practice, and Juushirou was reminded of the fact that although they were seniors, more than half of them had not yet completed summoning their own swords. The _asauchi _were the only clue that this was in any way the private room of trainee fighters, however, for books and papers lined most available surfaces, and in starkest contrast to the neatly hung weaponry Juushirou's sharp eyes caught sight of a wooden flute laying on the broad window-sill.

"Who are you?"

A voice cut across his reflections, and he glanced up from his automatic bow, meeting the quizzical grey eyes of Nagoya Shirogane.

Even at first glance there was no mistaking his clan heritage, for his complexion was as delicate and hair as ebony dark as Ryuu's own, with the signature slate gaze that marked him out as Kuchiki. He was not tall - in fact, he was only a bare inch at most taller than Juushirou himself, despite his additional years, and he was lithe and slender, his _hakama _crafted from expensive fabric cut to the school's style but in such a way that not only was it clear he was of good birth, but also that he took pride in his appearance and did not believe in letting the constraints of uniform hold him back.

His hair was pulled back in requisite noble ties, a long wavy tail that fell over his shoulder and down his back. At first glance it seemed casually done, but as he gazed at his senior Juushirou almost thought he could make out silver threaded in with the white - a further sign of the Kuchiki's attitude of sparing no expenses when it came to their public image. He did not have a sword at his side, yet his reiatsu indicated that he was probably one of the few who'd managed to at least summon one, the power neatly kept tucked away but no doubt as capable of causing destruction as the next Kuchiki should he choose to act. Yet even despite the fact he was looking at a trained swordsman with the same proud family heritage as Ryuu, Juushirou got the impression that the two could not be more different underneath the frappery and finesse. Whereas his classmate was often austere, proud and tedious in his use of vocabulary, Juushirou knew that those things were shields for Ryuu's awkwardness with people as much as they were evidence of his Clan's influence. Yet Shirogane gave off the aura of one who not only understood people but enjoyed playing with them, and Juushirou had the distinct impression that any who did not meet his exacting standards would be forever the victims of his sharp Kuchiki tongue.

The first year took a deep breath into his lungs, determined not to be frightened away at the first hurdle. This was the first time since term had begun that he had been face to face with Shirogane, and had only caught the briefest glimpses of him at training or in special assemblies. Yet in that brief first impression since entering the room, inwardly he decided he didn't like the Senior very much at all.

_Give me Kuchiki-kun any day. Even if he's not a natural with people, at least he doesn't have the same sneer to his air that this one does._

"I'm very sorry to disturb you, Nagoya-senpai." He said properly now, bowing his head once more. "Only I was looking for Anideshi or Unohana-senpai. Do you know where I might find them?"

"I asked you a question. Answer it." Shirogane snapped, and Juushirou flinched, inwardly berating himself.

"U...Ukitake Juushirou, senpai." He said now. "From Class One."

"Ukitake, huh." Shirogane's eyes became slits, and he nodded. "Yes, I see. I believe I've heard enough about you to bore me adequately - we can spare any more time on that subject. But Class One is first year. Even one of your birth should realise that you can't simply go around demanding to see the Seniors at the drop of a hat."

"I understand, Senpai." Juushirou kept a hand on his temper, nodding his head. "Only...it's to do with...something that happened last night. And..."

"You were the boy who fought against that Shihouin brat, weren't you?" Shirogane cut across him, reaching across to grasp Juushirou by the chin. Roughly he turned the boy's head from one side to the other, then frowned.

"Yes. I see it." He murmured. "I remember now. Ryuu's said it...and I see it. Faint and dilute, perhaps, and the eyes are bastardised and wrong. But you have the faintest hint of Kuchiki about you, after all. It's an interesting thing, seeing one's pure genes disseminated in such a random and vague manner."

"I'm sorry, Senpai, but I didn't come here to discuss my family's history or compare it to yours." Juushirou stiffened at this blatant insult to his Father's hazel eyes, taking a step back from the older student's grip and meeting his gaze soberly. "Last night I had an argument with Onoe Tomoyuki-kun and Anideshi took him away to confinement. I wanted to find out if I could speak to him - it's a little important, so..."

"You do have a sense of yourself, don't you?" Shirogane chuckled, eying him rather as though he was gazing at a circus exhibit. "But even if that's amusing, it won't get you anywhere. Confinement is confinement. The Shihouin boy will be sent home - he won't be able to see anyone, least of all the boy who disarmed him. You might want to gloat over your heroics, but you won't get that chance. Sensei will not permit it - I'd leave well alone."

"I've nothing to gloat about." Juushirou said quietly. "Nor do I intend to apologise to him. I just want to ask him something. A member of my class has disappeared...I wanted to know if Onoe-kun knew where he might be. We've asked anyone and everyone else - and he's the only one left."

"Hrm." Shirogane reached for the flute, tapping it idly against his hand as he eyed his young companion thoughtfully. "Now you mention it, one of your classmates was already here about that wretched Endou kid. I don't imagine Yunosuke knows any more about it than I do, to be honest, and you won't get to see the Shihouin boy no matter how hard you beg. But if that's it, you might as well not bother me any more. Yunosuke and Madeki were going to meet with Sensei about the incident and make a full report. They have not returned yet - if you wish to see them, you might as well head in that direction. Though they'll only tell you what I already have - that your cause is hopeless. No doubt the child will turn up, in any case. Endou-ke are like that. Do as they please but notoriously hard to kill."

He smiled casually.

"You are dismissed."

Juushirou frowned, but realised he was not going to get any further, so bowed his head respectfully towards his senior.

"Thank you, Senpai. I'll do that." He said softly. "I'm sorry for the disturbance."

With that he withdrew, closing the study door and turning on his heel.

_As far as Nagoya-senpai seems to see it, it's all a game of cat and mouse and he finds it more amusing than worrying that a student has disappeared. Kuchiki-kun doesn't much like the Endou either – and I know he hates the Shihouin. Is that why, in the end? I bet Nagoya-senpai would be a lot more bothered about it if it were Kuchiki people getting hurt._

_Still, even if he won't help, I'll find Anideshi and I'll talk to him. Maybe he at least will understand that I want to find my friend!_

* * *

So he had come, after all.

Onoe sat back against the cool, hard wall of the detention chamber, closing his eyes against the faint buzzing and spinning that swirled at the back of his senses. Relief mingled with fear and uncertainty competed for dominance across his senses, as his slow, sluggish brain processed what the sensations meant.

Seimaru had come. Seimaru had found Hirata. Hirata had gone. And Seimaru had taken him.

No doubt the Endou would now continue their scheme - that Seimaru would use the tools at his disposal and in the end, prevail. Their cause was not, after all, completely lost.

Onoe rubbed his temples absently, taking a deep breath into his lungs.

_But I couldn't kill Midori. I couldn't kill Kai. I couldn't avenge you, Uncle...and now it's too late. Because of that wretched District boy...I gambled and in the end, I lost._

As the edges of his vision blurred and became dimmer, he sighed, stretching out on the futon and closing his eyes.

It was too late now. He had cast his die and made his decision the moment he had resolved to take his blade from Aitori's office. There was no going back, and he knew that better than anyone.

_A Shihouin casts his honour in blood. I cast mine, Ojisama. I spilled blood for you, even if it wasn't enough. And I won't betray you. Sensei hasn't come yet, but when he does, it'll be too late. There's nothing he can learn from me, after all. Kai may have forgotten his honour and his oaths, and Midori may have done so too. But I have not. I was born a Shihouin, and a Shihouin I will always be. From my first breath until my last._

He took another deep breath, allowing the swirling haze of mist to wash over his tired body. At the back of his mind, flickers of panic danced and flared but he suppressed them, pushing them as far from his thoughts as he could.

This was not a time for doubting, after all. This was a time for composure.

This was a time for the Shihouin's ultimate honour.  
_  
Wait for me, Uncle. I'll see you again soon._

* * *

"I should have known, shouldn't I, that when Sensei gave me the title Anideshi he really meant unofficial workhorse."

As they approached the Headmaster's study, Yunosuke shot his companion a rueful smile, reaching up to brush his floppy fringe of blond hair out of his eyes. "I should have seen it coming then, shouldn't I – that it wasn't going to be just an honour to take on but a headache as well from start to finish."

"You always did answer first and think it through later." His companion told him unsympathetically. "Didn't I warn you last semester that things might end up this way?"

"Yes, but I didn't really think it would be like this." Yunosuke grimaced. "So far we've had murder in the wilds, a teacher slain and now a fight on campus and a student locked away in isolation because he thought it would be nice to carve the Shihouin crest in his cousin's abdomen. I guess I'd hoped for a moment or two to relax this year, Madeki – Senior Class has less lectures than the other years, and now I've got past all the pain and angst of summoning my sword to shikai last semester, I thought it'd be quieter this."

"Somehow I get the feeling that no part of this year is going to be quiet and relaxing."

Madeki reflected, folding his arms pensively across his chest as he did so. "But then I thought it would be that way when Sensei won the vote. There was a lot of discussion at home about it, after all – weren't yours the same, before the ballot?"

"The Urahara-ke abstained, and I didn't hear much about it." Yunosuke shook his head. "Unlike your Unohana-ke, we kept out of the spotlight on this one. We've made too many radical decisions over the last few generations – I think this time it was felt safer to keep noncommittal on the subject."

He sighed.

"But you're right. As Anideshi, I should've known." He mused. "You'd have made a better one than me, I think – you see things that I don't all the time."

"But Sensei chose you, because even if I see them, I rarely act quick enough to do anything about them." Madeki eyed his friend fondly. "In all the last six years, Yunosuke, you've always been the leader. It's not a surprise to anyone – it just means now the weight is on your shoulders."

"Sensei deployed us last night so that he wouldn't have to get involved." Yunosuke reflected, slipping his fingers into the folds of his _hakama_ as they made their way along the passageway that led to Genryuusai's study. "And so that he could carry out his secret negotiations without being disturbed. He gave us a lot to do, really, didn't he? I wonder if he knew Onoe would come out armed. I certainly didn't think it would escalate like that. Not between Shihouin at the very least."

"The Shihouin-ke are in flux and crisis. That much is blatantly obvious." Madeki said gravely. "I think last night has summed up exactly how serious the situation has become in District Two. None of us suspected Aitori – but obviously he was involved in something that's made matters worse. In contrast, being sent out to keep tabs on rule-breaking juniors seems a minor duty. Next year we're looking to enter squads, after all. It's all good practice."

"I suppose so." Yunosuke agreed. "Keeping Onoe in confinement is probably the short end of the wedge, in real terms. He's an idiot and he acted rashly – he'll be sent home for it and that will be that. But Sensei would've been in the difficult situation had someone died last night…he would've had to answer the questions and not us."

"Which is why Sensei is Sensei." Madeki reflected. "Though this year's First Year are far more unusual than any since you and I were new students here. The Academy has changed, evolved and grown even in that time – but bringing District kids in…did anyone expect a kid like that Ukitake boy to be doing what he's doing in quite such open style?"

"I think Sensei knew _exactly_ what he was getting when he brought the boy here, and more, he did it on purpose because he _wanted _it to happen." Yunosuke said wryly. "How many lectures have we had on not underestimating those born in lower Seireitei? Now he's bringing in the proof to back it up. It took this long to get it by the Council, that's all – but I don't think it's any kind of an accident, Madeki. Sensei saw something in that kid the first moment he met him and he decided then and there that he was going to be the one to shake things up. The kid himself probably had no idea of it, but I'm sure that's how it was. And I can understand it, nonetheless. He's a strange one, that boy. But I don't think that we'll have heard the last of him even when we do leave this place."

"Probably not." Madeki agreed, as they reached the door of the head's study. "Well? Will you knock or shall I, Anideshi-sama?"

Before Yunosuke could respond, the door swung open to reveal first Shunsui and then Ryuu, their expressions both preoccupied and frustrated as they stepped out into the hall. At the sight of their seniors, they paused, Ryuu's brows shooting up as he glanced from one to the other.

"Anideshi. Unohana-senpai." He murmured. "Why are you here?"

"We could ask you the same thing." Yunosuke said frankly. "It's not something you need to concern yourselves about, so run along."

"Are you going to get Juushirou into trouble?" Shunsui hesitated, and Yunosuke eyed him keenly.

"Juushirou?"

"Ukitake." Shunsui responded. "I know you know what happened last night, Senpai – are you going to report him and get him punished? Because…"

"Ukitake disarmed a student not in his wits and prevented a worse situation from occurring." Madeki said softly. "Why would we want him punished for that?"

"Fighting. Breaking curfew. Poking his nose in where it wasn't invited." Shunsui pursed his lips. "Sensei told me that because I helped Shihouin and Unohana-sensei put in a word for me, he's not going to punish me for slipping out of the dorm last night. But Juu went off against Onoe and it was you who broke up the fight, wasn't it? Sensei will want to know about it – you're here to report to him, aren't you, after all?"

"You're a cheeky monkey, Kyouraku, but you have a sharp wit about you when you want." Yunosuke grinned at him. "But it's all right. Ukitake is the least of our concerns. We're not here to get him into any trouble. Now run along, the pair of you. Your year have caused more than enough scandal and uproar at this school so far between you – how about you try toning it down a little before classes begin again?"

He leant across to knock on the still ajar door.

"Leave Senior business to us. It's safer that way."

As Genryuusai called them in, Yunosuke shot the two boys another grin, gesturing to Madeki, and together they entered the office, leaving the first years to their own devices.

"I've been waiting for your full report." At the sight of them Genryuusai smiled, indicating for them to come and stand before the desk. "Thank you for your quick handling of the incident last night, both of you. I realise you came to speak to me last evening, Madeki, but with what was going on in my office I did not have a chance to speak to you at all and the message I received was only a brief account. Now I will hear from the two of you - and in full, if I may. I understand that Onoe Tomoyuki is still in confinement custody – I assume that you've not left him alone there even though the doors are locked and barred?"

"Gujihara is currently watching him, and I'll take over later on." Yunosuke raised his head from his regulation bow of respect. "The knife is locked away in the cupboard in our study, though there's no doubt that it's a Shihouin weapon and the kid himself said he got it from Aitori-sensei's room. He's completely defiant still, Sensei. He hasn't calmed down much at all. I'd say he's no longer hysterical – actually, I'm wondering whether he was hysterical or not in the first place."

Genryuusai's eyes narrowed.

"Has he given a reason for his behaviour?" He asked softly, and Madeki nodded.

"He intended to kill Midori-sama." He said quietly. "His cousin got in the way, so he decided he'd start there instead."

"In revenge for Aitori's death?"

"Yes, sir. That's what it looks like."

"Then it was a Shihouin matter after all?"

"Without a doubt." Yunosuke agreed, and Genryuusai's expression darkened.

"Then there is no alternative. He will be kept where he is until arrangements to send him home can be put into play." He said softly. "I won't keep a secret from the two of you the fact that Midori-dono came here last night to discuss the future of her family and the troubles currently renting the Shihouin apart. Things will begin to happen in the next few days – things which will have a significant impact on a lot of people both here and in District Two. One boy's foolish actions will probably be eclipsed by them – but I will not keep him here. Not if that attitude persists."

He sighed.

"Of course, this is no small matter." He admitted with a sigh. "And I should like to discharge you of your duties with simple thanks, but I'm afraid it can't be done. I have other things to ask you – both of you – and I will trust in the fullness of your response."

"Yes, Sensei?" Madeki looked surprised, and Genryuusai nodded.

"Ukitake Juushirou was involved last night, I believe." He murmured, and Yunosuke nodded his head.

"He disarmed Onoe and had him pinned against a tree when Madeki and I reached them." He agreed. "He freely admitted to using Kidou without permission, and to breaking his curfew. But since he'd just taken the blade from a boy with murder on his mind, I didn't think that you'd want him in confinement as well. Was that a mistaken judgement, Sensei?"

"I want to know why Ukitake acted." Genryuusai admitted. "I could summon and speak to him directly, but if I do so I run the risk of putting ideas into his head about things that don't involve him, and his is a brain that moves quickly. I know he's already formed alliances with people here that he takes quite seriously. Now I need to know, I think, just how seriously. Midori-dono said some things to me last night that made me wonder – I need to know why he intervened in that fight and whether he did so to defend Shihouin pride or to protect his friends."

He raised his gaze to his two senior students.

"I want to know from the two of you, who spoke to him soonest after the event. I need to know his motives in all of this – even if they are not ones I want to hear."

Madeki and Yunosuke exchanged looks for a moment, then,

"He said he acted out of pride, but I don't think it was anything to do with the Shihouin. Onoe was quite vitriolic towards him and Ukitake was clearly angry about things said about his own family's honour." Yunosuke said slowly. "But he wasn't hysterical or acting recklessly. He was quite purposeful and he said that didn't want to let Onoe go because he'd do something he might regret. The position he had the boy in – it was quite clear if he wanted to do damage to Onoe, the kid wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. But he was just holding him so he couldn't move."

He pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"He seemed very worried about the Shihouin kid's injury – and it didn't seem like his anxiety was Clan-loyalty inspired." He added. "It seemed more like the genuine anxiety of a kid worrying about a friend to me. He said that he and Kyouraku had stumbled into the fight – I don't think he was there by design."

"He and Kyouraku came to help Shihouin because he was hurt." Madeki agreed, and Genryuusai sighed, relief evident on his wrinkled features.

"That is what Kyouraku also told me, but that boy does not always tell the whole truth and would protect Ukitake if he thought he needed to." He murmured. "I am glad to hear the same from you. It would be dangerous, after all, if Ukitake had become embroiled in Clan politics and had fought Onoe because he had taken an opposing side without fully understanding the risks involved. I would have to punish him, most probably, in a severe manner to ensure that message was taken in. But if he acted as you say he did – as a peacekeeper – then I can rest a little more easily. It's not my wish to sever his friendships or make him more conscious of the differences between him and them – that would destroy the very idea of bringing him and the others here in the first place. In any case, I will not punish him for last night. He acted on his instincts and I will not condemn him for that. After all, he probably did help prevent things from becoming worse and if I am not willing to punish Kyouraku, I won't punish Ukitake."

He settled himself more comfortably at his desk, then,

"One other matter, before you go."

"Yes, Sensei?" Yunosuke's brows creased in confusion. "Something else from last night?"

"I don't know, yet." Genryuusai shook his head. "I just wanted to know if you knew anything about the whereabouts of Endou Hirata."

"Endou…Hirata?" Madeki's eyes widened, and Yunosuke groaned.

"Another first year?" He murmured. "Sensei, I swear, none of us were ever as much trouble as the kids in this year are. But even Endou, now? That mouse of a kid has broken curfew?"

"If he has, it isn't the first time, but it concerns me a little more since his companions also do not know where he is." Genryuusai said gravely. "Kuchiki Ryuu and Kyouraku Shunsui came to me and spent some time convincing me that it was a serious matter and that something must be done about it. They were speaking in tongues – I'm sure that, as ever, they were only telling me half of the story. But the other half may simply be too dangerous to tell – if what I suspect is the truth…"

He rubbed his temples.

"Kyouraku Tokutarou also spoke to me briefly before leaving." He added softly. "I begin to think that Hirata did not leave here of his own accord. If he broke rules, I don't think they were rules he chose to break."

"Sensei?" Madeki stared, then, "Someone _kidnapped_ the kid? Right here? Under everyone's noses?"

"Or someone from his family came to speak to him." Yunosuke said softly. "And as yet have not brought him back."

"That is my suspicion." Genryuusai agreed. "And if that's the case, there's no crime involved in it. With last night, and Aitori's death, there's every possibility a skittish family like the Endou might come here, given that Hirata is the first of their kinsfolk to be enrolled here. More, the Shihouin-ke are their sworn allies and they might be concerned about retribution. Just because I haven't had a formal notice to the effect does not mean that someone has acted either illegally or unfairly. But still…"

"Do you want us to search for him, Sensei?" Madeki asked quietly, and Genryuusai shook his head.

"No. It's not your business to act in that way, and I won't have a Clan angered if we act without any real cause for acting." He said evenly. "The Endou have every right to visit or even recall Hirata and in the circumstances I can't stand in their way. But I will have one of you take a message for me to the administrative outpost on the outskirts of the local town. I'd like District One's people to keep an eye open for him."

"I'll go." Madeki volunteered. "I'm quicker at shunpo than Yunosuke, and in any case Gujihara will be wondering where he is."

"That's true." Yunosuke agreed. "In truth, I'd rather it was you than me."

He met Genryuusai's gaze, then,

"There is a distant blood kinship between Urahara and Endou and it means my kin prefer to keep out of Endou business unless it's really necessary to act." He said softly. "If it was something directly affecting here, then I'd act – because then I'd be acting as Anideshi and it would be the duty you gave me, Sensei. But in this instance…"

"I am more than happy for Madeki to take the message." Genryuusai assured him. "The Urahara-ke have been understandably quiet on many issues in recent years and probably your caution is not unwise. But even so, Yunosuke, I want you to keep this in mind too. I gave you the title because you of all of the Seniors most deserved it. You will graduate in the spring and you will enter the infant stages of the Gotei squad system. You are strong and already have shikai to a level of good control. That means you will be a ranking member of a squad and it may not be that Third District has a suitably high vacancy for you to fill. You may have to choose, in the end, between your Clan caution and your desire to protect Seireitei. Wherever you are fielded, you'll no doubt be a credit to my teaching. But how far you progress and what you achieve – that's something you need to keep in mind all the more now you're in your final year."

Yunosuke eyed his teacher for a moment, then bowed his head in acknowledgement.

"I understand." He murmured. "And I will give it much more thought. I mean to be useful to you, Sensei. But I must also consider my family's wishes, too. Hopefully I can find an even balance between the two."

"Hopefully so." Genryuusai reached across the desk for a folded sheet of paper, glancing at it then holding it to Madeki.

"As quickly as you can, Madeki. You do not need to report back to me except if they send a return message."

"Yes, Sensei. At once." Madeki nodded, disappearing into shunpo, and Genryuusai offered Yunosuke a smile.

"We've had the conversation before and no doubt will again, but I expect good things from you and I will keep expecting them even after you're out of my training sphere." He said softly. "You are dismissed."

"Anideshi!"

As Yunosuke headed back towards the wing of the building that housed the Seniors' quarters, he was accosted by a student's yell and he stopped, turning to see Juushirou running across the grass towards him. As the student reached him, however, he stumbled, instinctively reaching out for Yunosuke's _hakama_ to prevent his fall as he fought to draw breath into his lungs.

"Woah there. Where's the fire?" Yunosuke gathered his wits hurriedly, grasping the youngster by the shoulders and supporting him as a nasty cough wracked through his thin frame. "Calm down, before you suffocate yourself – what's all the hurry?"

"I'm…sorry." Juushirou gasped, gazing up at his companion as he struggled to calm the spasms in his chest. "I just…didn't want…to miss you…again."

"Well, you haven't. You've got my full attention." Yunosuke frowned. "Is this something to do with last night? Or…?"

"I want…to…please…I need…to speak…to Onoe…kun." Juushirou managed, and Yunosuke sighed, slowly shaking his head.

"Not possible." He said softly. "I'm sorry, kid, but whatever your reason, it's a no go. Onoe's staying in confinement until further notice – and there's no way Sensei would permit me to break that order."

"But…he might…know wh…where…Hirata…"

That was as much as Juushirou could manage, as a second spasm of coughing ran through him, and despite himself Yunosuke was alarmed at the sudden pallor in the boy's sallow cheeks.

"Are you sure you weren't hurt last night?" He murmured, and Juushirou shook his head, swallowing hard before he finally managed to speak.

"Just…because I…ran." He managed, his voice hoarse. "I'll…it's just…my chest…"

He coughed again, closing his eyes briefly, then,

"I need…to find…Hirata."

"Endou Hirata, huh?"

"Y…yes."

"And you think Onoe knows where he is?"

"M…m…maybe."

"Sensei sent Madeki to the District's offices and told them to look for the kid already." Yunosuke made up his mind. "They'll move far faster than you can. I'm going to Onoe now, to keep tabs on him for the rest of the evening. I'll ask him about the Endou kid and if necessary, I'll pass the information to Sensei. That's the best I can do – you need to keep out of it in return."

"But…"

"You're obviously in no fit state to do anything else." Yunosuke grasped his companion firmly, slipping into shunpo before the boy could react and setting down gently outside the door of the first year dormitory. "You belong here and you'd do better staying put for a while. I promise I will ask him. I want you to promise not to break curfew trying to find him on your own in the meantime. Understood?"

Juushirou stared at him for a moment, then he sighed, nodding his head.

"Yes. Th…thank you."

"It's all right." Yunosuke smiled, releasing his grip on the younger student's body. "After last night, you're lucky Sensei's decided not to punish you. Don't you think you should keep your head down a little longer? Else he might change his mind."

"Sensei…said that…?"

"Yes. Madeki and I told him you'd disarmed Onoe and he decided in those circumstances to let it go. He might feel differently if you tried to see the kid again, though – you see that yourself, don't you?"

"Mm. I…I suppose so." Juushirou sighed, and Yunosuke let out an exclamation, only just catching hold of his companion as the boy's legs buckled under him.

"You're not well." He murmured, and Juushirou shook his head.

"Just…coughing…hurts." He responded ruefully. "Running…is…usually…"

Yunosuke eyed him for a moment, then,

"You are the strangest kid I ever met, that's for sure." He said frankly, reaching across to open the dorm door and ushering his young companion carefully inside. "But you can only do so much before you start to destroy yourself. Remember that, okay? It'll be too late one day if you don't."

"Ukitake!"

As they entered, Enishi jumped up off his bed, and at the sight of him, Yunosuke grinned.

"This one belongs to you people, Houjou. See he gets some rest – he's been running around all over the place and it doesn't seem to agree with him." He said off-handedly. "Which one's his bunk? You're not to let him loose from here till he's got some colour back in his cheeks."

"This one." Enishi indicated, and Yunosuke deposited his burden unceremoniously on the blankets, eying him sternly.

"You heard what I told Houjou. Stay here." He said firmly. "Leave Endou to Sensei and leave Onoe to me. Understood?"

"Yes, Senpai." Juushirou's words were hoarse but clear, and Yunosuke nodded.

"Then that's all." He reflected. "I swear, you first years cause more headaches than the rest of the school put together."

"I'll make sure he's all right, Senpai." Enishi assured him, sending Juushirou a concerned look. "Why were you running anyway, you idiot? If you start coughing properly someone will lock you up in the Healing Bay and then what use are you?"

"At least one of you has some sense." Yunosuke sighed. "All right. I'm going to go see to my other duties. At least try not to cause any more problems this evening, please? It would be nice, after all, to have one day where we weren't wondering what one or other of the first year students were involved in!"


	32. Mist

**Chapter Thirty One: Mist**

Dawn.

Hirata leant up against the trunk of a hollow tree, biting his lip as he gazed across the horizon. It had been a cool, mild night, yet he was still chilled to the core by the intent in Seimaru's words and as a result he had not slept at all, forcing himself to push forward every time he felt exhaustion begin to seep through his tired body. He was not used to acting like this, and every limb ached and throbbed with the unfamiliar exertion, yet he had not let himself slow, knowing that time was of the essence.

Though he had felt the mix of reiatsu spilling out across District One, he had managed to avoid all pursuers and even now he knew that they wouldn't find him. He had taken precautions, after all, to make sure that nobody would. Not until he had reached his goal.

_"I'll teach you a special trick, Hirata-kun."_

The words echoed through his thoughts as he sat there, gazing at the vial that sat in front of him on the ground. As he did so, a wave of homesickness and regret washed through his senses and he bit his lip, fighting against the tears that threatened to fall.

_"It's a special trick that you don't need to tell to anyone else. A special trick that you can use, if ever Seimaru is teasing you and you want to get away."  
_  
He sighed, closing his eyes as he pictured his father's face, the gentle smile and the look in the man's troubled pale eyes as he had lifted the then seven year old Hirata carefully to his feet, wiping away his tears and touching his fingers to the boy's bruised and beaten limbs.

Seimaru's cruelty had been ignored by most of the rest of the Clan, but never by his father. And because of it, Hirata had grown up clinging to Misashi's kindness, looking for the strength he lacked in the man who had always shielded him.

But this time he was alone, and he didn't have time to wonder about whether his thoughts were right or not.

"It's a trick that makes you invisible. If you use it, nobody will be able to find you. Then Seimaru can't hurt you, can he?"

"Invisible?" The tiny Hirata had sniffled, gazing up at his Father in bewilderment. "But people can't go invisible, Papa - can they?"

"No, they can't." Misashi had patted him gently on the shoulder. "But this is a trick that will make him not see you. And if it's you, I'm sure you can learn it. You have a lot of talents, after all - and as you get older, one by one I'm sure you'll realise what they are. But for the time being...I'll teach you just this one. And you can use it whenever Seimaru is scaring you."

At that moment Misashi had smiled, reassuring Hirata somehow in that one fleeting gesture.

But now, at almost sixteen, Hirata was no longer so easily reassured. He was no longer a small child, cloaked and shielded by the love of his parents against the cruelty of the Clan into which he had been born.

_This is my family too, after all. My problem, as well as Shihouin-kun's. Only in my case, the enemy is Seimaru. It's always been Seimaru. I've given in, before. But this time, I won't. If I give in, it won't stop him from hurting people. I'm not foolish - I've lived my whole life with him lurking in the shadows, waiting to take advantage and cause me pain. I know better than anyone that Seimaru won't simply stop with using me. So I can't just sit and hide, this time. _

He got to his feet, glancing at his hands.

"But for the time being, Otousama, your trick still works." He murmured, light glittering faintly from his fingers as he brushed them together. "Combine basic Kidou with reiatsu suppression, and I might as well be completely invisible from sight or from sense. I know they're looking for me, but so long as I have this, they won't find me."

He glanced across the horizon, making out the faint dotting of military buildings in the distance, and despite himself a faint smile touched his lips.

_If I can get that far, then I'll manage it. If I can keep this up long enough, I'll be all right. I'm sure about that. But before I get there..._

He reached down to pick up the vial, loathing deep in his heart as he gazed at it.

_The longer this exists, the more danger my Clan are in. Even if it means I protect Seimaru again, I can't let this continue to exist. So long as it's in my hands, if I'm caught, it won't just be on me that the hammer falls. Not this time. For the sake of my own family, I have to destroy the evidence that might convict Seimaru - but I can't help that. For now, it's the only thing I can do._

He placed the vial on the branch of a nearby tree, narrowing his eyes as he tried to focus on his target. Without his spectacles, it was difficult to be exact, yet he let his senses guide him, picking out the noxious aura that the glass vessel exuded into the surrounding ether as he brought his hands together before his body.

"_Hadou no Sanjuu Ichi - Shakka-hou._" He murmured, as a stream of hot red energy burst from his fingers, engulfing the tree and the vessel in it's blaze. Flame licked up the branches and through the leaves of the unsuspecting tree, and as it charred and blackened, he felt a pang of guilt touch his heart.

_Ukitake-kun is always talking about trees and their strength, yet here I am destroying one to shield an evil person from justice. I suppose I am an Endou deep down, after all. I will twist things to protect people I love - and like Shihouin-kun, sometimes I will put my Clan first. But this is more important than just the life of one tree. So I can't falter now._

He twitched his fingers together again, repeating the spell as a fresh blaze of energy swamped the ash-coated tree, the force of his strike hot enough to melt and warp the glass of the vial. At length there was a loud bang, and Hirata dropped instinctively to the ground as the contents of Seimaru's precious experiment shot out into the mass of charcoal and dead wood. Where they touched the flames, the substance sizzled and burnt with an eerie blue light, and Hirata almost thought he could hear the screams of the individuals experimented on as the fire consumed the latent, dissected remains of their spiritual energy.  
_  
Like a funeral pyre._

From his shelter, he put his hands together, closing his eyes as he said a silent prayer.

_To all the people Seimaru no doubt killed to get to this stage...and all the people he still has power over, I'm sorry. I don't know if what I'm doing will bring any of you any peace at all. But it's still my only course of action. And this time I have to act, because I'm the only one that can._

As the fire began to smoulder out, he stepped cautiously towards it, nudging a fragment of mangled glass with his toe, then nodding his head.

_It's a good thing I've got so good at shakka-hou. Before I came here, I'd never have been able to fire something hot enough to destroy Seimaru's guilt so completely. I suppose that the Academy's taught me a lot of things - even if I never go back there, I'll try my best not to forget them as I go along.  
_  
Juushirou flashed through his thoughts at this moment, and he bit his lip.

_I'm sorry, Ukitake-kun. But I made myself a promise and I won't break it. Not even if you're worrying about me - I won't get you involved. This time, even if it kills me, I won't._

With that he turned on his heel, flexing his fingers as he murmured the soft words of the incantation his father had taught him when he had just been a small boy.

"_Bakudou no Nijuu Roku. Kyakkou_." He muttered, feeling the swirl of his reiatsu as it answered his call. For a moment he let it strengthen the Kidou spell, then he reeled the flickers of spiritual energy back in, suppressing it entirely once more as he prepared to move on. His father had taught him that, too, after all. That someone who couldn't be seen or sensed could not easily be hurt.

_With this, at least, I won't be found. Thank you, Otousama. I've remembered it well, the trick you taught me. I'll keep remembering it - it might just save someone's life.  
_  
With that he turned on his heel, hurrying across the terrain towards the tall fortified buildings that lined the horizon.

_I'm running out of time. But I have to make it. Otherwise...otherwise someone will definitely get hurt. And scared as I am, I don't want to let that happen. _

* * *

The horizon was shrouded in mist.

In the haze of greys and whites, Mitsuki shivered, drawing her cloak more tightly around her body as she struggled to make out familiar landmarks. It was a surreal, gloomy world, drowned in confusion and fragmented by pain and fear. Yet with every step she took, she knew she was approaching its real core – the shadowy figure whose silhouette she had seen fleetingly dart across her line of sight.

She was asleep now.

Even she knew that, that her real self was safe in her bunk in the dormitory of Genryuusai's prestigious Academy. Even now Sora slept peacefully to her left, and Naoko to her right, and the moonlight streamed and glittered in at the window, its light blotted out to blackness by the shutters her roommates insisted on closing before going to bed each evening. It was a clear, bright night, a summer night where the moon and stars shone stridently against the velvet black sky.

Yet all Mitsuki could see was grey. Grey and indistinct, and the moon swallowed up by the aura that surrounded her.

Even in her dream, Mitsuki knew that the haze and shadow were the omens of death.

She shivered again, unable to shake the chill that curled up around her heart. In that moment she thought she heard a voice, calling to her, but the words were faint and indistinct, and though she caught another fleeting glimpse of the shadow, she could not make out his real form.

"Is there somebody there?"

Mitsuki gathered her courage, reaching forth into the mist until her fingertips too became cloaked in the soft white film. "Endou-kun? Endou-kun…is that you?"

There was no reply, and Mitsuki steeled herself against her panic, forcing herself to keep moving forward.

_If I want to wake up, I know that I can. I know that this isn't my real self, and that I don't belong in this place. I know this, but if I wake now, I'll never find the one who drew me here. And they did draw me here. Someone in pain – someone suffering. Someone needing my help._

She frowned, feeling the vaguest sensation of someone's fear brushing against her skin.

"I want to help you." She murmured. "Please don't be afraid of me. I want to know who you are. Please don't run away."

There was no reply, yet in the mist she suddenly felt the taint of herbs wash against her senses, the sensation sharp and distinctive in the cold ether. As she registered the feeling, a sense of dread swelled up inside of her and she shook her head, throwing her caution to the winds as she ran forward into the greyness.

"No!" She exclaimed, hurrying helter-skelter down the hill as she caught a brief sight of the hazy shadow, reaching out in vain to grasp hold of it before it disappeared once more. Memories flooded her senses, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks as she ran, stumbling and tripping over her feet and falling headlong over the stones and bumps she could not see. She was on her feet again in an instant, however, barrelling forwards once more. Her heart beat fit to explode in her chest, and as she saw the shadow once more, she felt the faintest wisp of reiatsu brush against her senses.

"_Onoe-kun_!" She screamed.

"Mitsuki!"

A voice from somewhere outside her dreamscape jolted like electricity through her body at that moment, and her eyes shot open, bringing her back to the dim world of the dormitory with a sharp jolt. Concerned green eyes stared down at her, and she drew a ragged gasp of air into her lungs, grasping hold of her friend's arm tightly as fear rushed through her body and pulling herself into a sitting position.

"Sora." She whispered, and Sora nodded, sinking down onto her friend's bed and slipping a supportive arm around her shoulders.

"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" She asked softly, and Mitsuki nodded, not loosing her grip on her companion's arm.

"Onoe-kun." She murmured, and Sora stared at her, a confused look crossing her features.

"Onoe?" She demanded, only just remembering to keep her voice down. "Mitsuki-chan, why were you dreaming about Onoe? I thought it was _Juushirou_ who kept haunting your dreams – are you sleep-cheating on him now?"

Something in Sora's blunt question brought a sense of reality back to the shaken girl and she shook her head, smiling faintly at her friend's remark.

"Not like that." She responded. "I just…in the mist…"

"Okay. I get it. This was one of those kinds of dreams." Sora sighed, shaking her head in resignation. "I know by now, Mitsuki. I can tell the signs. You're crying, for a start. You only cry in your sleep if it's something major – so take a breath and tell me what happened. Okay?"

"I didn't wake anyone else?" Mitsuki reached up to touch her damp cheek gingerly. "I'm sure I screamed."

"No, you didn't – not this time." Sora shook her head. "But it wouldn't have mattered if you had. It's about sunrise outside and I was going to open the shutters when I saw your tears…you know how Hanako insists on closing them when it's a bright night because she swears she can't sleep with the moon glaring on her pillow. But the bell will go and wake them soon enough – so don't look so worried."

"Dawn?" Mitsuki murmured, then as memory of her dream returned to her she frowned, pushing back her blanket.

"I need to go to Onoe-kun." She said decidedly, and Sora snorted, shaking her head.

"You won't. Juushirou tried it yesterday and got marshalled back to his dorm by a Senior for his trouble."She said categorically. "Shunsui said as much. Onoe's in isolation. He's going home. He's not going to come back to class."

"He's not going to come back…" Mitsuki swallowed hard, feeling the tendrils of mist close in around her heart again. "No, Sora, you don't understand. You don't…he's not…"

"You're getting incoherent again. Are you going to get hysterical on me now?" Sora looked anxious, and Mitsuki bit her lip.

"Maybe." She admitted unsteadily. "You being here helps, Sora-chan – because I know you don't think I'm crazy, even if other people do. But…there's something wrong. And I think…I feel…he's disappearing. Little by little, he's slipping into the mist."

"Into the mist?" Sora looked confused. "Well, _I_ don't think you're mad, and Naoko doesn't think so either – but sometimes you say things that I can't make head nor tail of. What do you mean, mist?"

"In my dream, everything was like that. I couldn't see anything much at all." Mitsuki whispered. "There was a shadow of a person, darting away from me, and he was getting fainter with every moment. I couldn't tell who it was at first, then I felt the faintest hint of him. But there was something else there, too. Something that reminded me…"

She closed her eyes, burying her head in Sora's shoulder, and Sora sighed heavily, gently stroking her hair.

"You're no use to anyone like this." She said quietly. "So we'll get up and we'll go see Sensei, shall we? Retsu-sama isn't here now, she's gone back to District Four. But if we go to Genryuusai-sensei direct…"

"What are you two talking about this early in the morning?" Naoko's sleepy voice from the next bed made both turn, and Sora frowned, patting Mitsuki on the head.

"This one's having bad dreams again." She said resignedly. "I'm going to take her to Sensei before breakfast, since Retsu-sama's not here at the moment."

"Another dream? About Ukitake-kun?" Naoko frowned, pushing back her covers and getting to her feet as she padded across the chamber to open the shutters. Sunlight streamed in through the window, suddenly brightening the chamber, and she sighed, glancing out across the school grounds.

"It looks like a nice day. Mitsuki, you need to take a breath and calm down. If the boy bothers you so much, do something about it…but stop meandering in your sleep over whether or not he's healthy."

"It's not Ukitake-kun." Mitsuki raised her head at this moment, colour flushing her pale cheeks as she met Naoko's gaze. "It's not that, Naoko-chan. It's something else. It's Onoe-kun. It's…"

"Onoe?" Naoko snorted. "I wouldn't waste an inch of concern on that idiot. He tried to kill Shihouin-kun, after all."

"And Juushirou, for that matter." Sora added. "I wouldn't have thought you'd be at all sympathetic to anything he was going through, given that."

"It's different." Mitsuki protested, pushing Sora back and getting clumsily to her feet. "I told you, he was disappearing! He was being lost…Eimin…"

"Eimin?" Naoko froze, staring at her in alarm, and Sora frowned, glancing from one girl to the other.

"Eimin? What the hell's Eimin?"

"That really depends who's asking and what context the question's being asked." Naoko's lips thinned.

"Then try me asking and the context being Mitsuki babbling about it in relation to a dream about Onoe." Sora retorted. "Naoko-chan, stop pulling faces and explain. You know what it is? What she means?"

"A powerful soporific composite." Naoko's lips thinned. "And one with a particularly distinctive array of characteristics and side effects. Eimin-yaku isn't generally used by healers - although some of the herbs used in it are given to people with terminal illnesses to allow sleep and relieve pain. It can be pretty dangerous - it could kill you if you're even a fragment of a grain off with your calculations. My Clan deal in its component parts from time to time – but we're all warned against using Eimin-yaku because of how easily it can be misjudged. Outside of District Four, I don't know how it would be...Mitsuki-chan, how do you…"

"My mother was treated with it, before she died." Mitsuki responded, grabbing her _hakama_ off the hook and pulling it hurriedly over her body.

"Treated with it?" Naoko's bows knitted together. "But...Eimin-yaku's not particularly useful for just treating someone's illness. If a patient is sick and you want to help them, you want something that's going to work fast. Eimin-yaku includes two or three herbs that delay the full effects...so it doesn't kick in straight away. It's also known to have a permanently degenerative effect on a person's reiatsu. I wouldn't have thought that any healer would use that kind of thing on your mother, Mitsuki-chan. No matter how sick she was."

"No healer did." Mitsuki said softly. "But I know about it, all the same. And I know something else about it, too, Naoko-chan. Eimin-yaku is used as a poison by assassins - that's how the last head of the Kuchiki-ke is meant to have died. From Eimin-yaku poisoning - which is how my mother came to hear about it at all."

"Your mother was poisoned?" Sora's eyes almost fell out of her head. "But I thought...when you told us she'd passed on...she was murdered by some assassin?"

"No. Mother wasn't murdered." Tears glittered on Mitsuki's lashes and she shook her head. "And right now that's not important. I can't reach her any more. She's already lost in the mist. But...Onoe-kun..."

"You think Onoe-kun's been...?" Naoko paled, and Mitsuki shrugged.

"I don't know." She murmured. "I just know what I felt, and...I have to go to him – I have to go _now_. Even if I can't change it, I have to…he called to me, even if he didn't know he did. And I felt it…and now…"

She looped the _obi _around her waist, tying it tightly.

"You're not going out looking like that?" Naoko was horrified. "Your hair un-brushed, your face a mess of tears and totally unwashed…Mitsuki-chan!"

"There isn't time!" Mitsuki exclaimed. "If I'm punished, then I am! But I'm going – I'm going to Onoe-kun. I have to go before it's too late!"

* * *

"Midori-hime, Kamuki-sama will see you now."

Midori swallowed hard, nodding her head slightly to the uniformed attendant as if to acknowledge his words. Inside her chest her heart was already beating fit to explode, yet she knew she must not show her apprehension to anyone. This was what she had come for, after all. She did not have time to waste on petty things like fear. After all, if she was truly going to guide this Clan through the chaos to come, she had to find that strength of character that her mother had bequeathed her.

The strength that allowed her to be the Shadow Cat and the Shihouin-ke's only hope in the dark days ahead.

She and Saku had arrived at the Shihouin-ke estate early that morning, and immediately she had returned to the safe familiarity of her own quarters, ordering maids this way and that as she had prepared herself for the meeting with her Uncle. By the time one of Kamuki's retainers had come to tell her an audience had been granted, she was robed once more in the formal attire of a Shihouin princess, the rough clothes of travel discarded for burning. The pendant bearing the crest of the Shihouin hung heavy around her neck, however, and she touched it idly, wondering how much more weighty it would become from now on.

Nobody had tried to prevent her access to District Two or to her quarters since her arrival, but she could tell by the buzzing atmosphere that her return had startled and unsettled them. She was the revered Shadow Cat, yet she had also broken a solemn betrothal agreement in plain sight - and fled across land to her family's territory without a word to anyone. The tension in the atmosphere had done nothing for her own nerves, and she drew a deep breath into her lungs, hoping that she would still be able to salvage something from the wreckage of her Clan's honour.  
_  
After all, I don't want to leave it all on Kai's head. He's young enough still and Genryuusai-sama seemed quite serious in continuing his training. If that can happen...he will be of most use to the Shihouin to continue on there. But there will be those who are angry at me, when they learn what I've done to come here. And I must be ready to face that. No matter what it brings._

"Saku, remain here." She said softly, casting her companion a glance, and Saku bowed her head, stepping obediently away from her mistress without a word. There was uncertainty in her aura too, Midori knew, a genuine anxiety for the safety of one she'd sworn her entire life to, and somehow she felt comforted by the strength of Saku's loyalty.

_You have no idea how many times on this journey you've been my strength, Saku-chan. I will make sure that faith is repaid. I promise, I will._

Midori turned, gathering her composure then striding forward towards the partition that divided her Uncle's study from the rest of the administrative centre of Shihouin power. Though nobility, her family had always put great stock in well-structured organisation, and even now Kamuki was not alone. Three or four retainers bustled around the room, their arms stacked high with dusty scrolls, and Midori's heart almost stilled in her chest. She stepped over the threshold, meeting the troubled gaze of her own father as he stood beside his brother's desk.

"Midori." He murmured softly, and at the sound of her name, Midori's expression became grave.

She paused, bowing low before the head of the Clan and his companion, then,

"My sincere apologies, Father. It seems I have caused you much inconvenience with my selfish actions." She said quietly. "But I hope that you and Kamuki-sama will both see to forgive me for them - more, that you will hear more of them. For we don't have much time in which to talk."

"What is the meaning of this, Midori?" Kamuki himself spoke up at that moment, and Midori's golden gaze shifted to her Uncle, taking in the censure in his amber eyes. No, she reminded herself, he was more than her Uncle. He was her sensei, and at this recollection she frowned, hardening her heart.

"I have come to invoke the claim of the Shadow Cat to rule the Shihouin Clan." She said quietly, and a collective gasp went up from the retainers present at the calm, matter-of-fact announcement. "For this reason I have left District Seven and travelled East."

"Invoke the..." Kamuki's eyes widened and he was on his feet, his fingers instinctively moving to his waist for the hilt of his _zanpakutou_. "What do you mean, you insolent child? What claim do you think you have, standing there before me like this? You have abandoned your responsibilities to your family and insulted our allies in District Seven, and now..."

"Dismiss your retainers please, Kamuki-sama." Midori quailed inwardly at the sudden flare in her companion's reiatsu, but stood her ground. "I will explain all to you, but not in front of them. I have left my own servant outside, for this is a matter that should be discussed between Shihouin alone."

"Midori, you..."

"Nii-sama." Before Kamuki could close his fingers around his weapon, Midori's father spoke up, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "Please, do not react so quickly. Let us at least hear what she has to say."

"Chiaki." Kamuki eyed his companion in surprise, then he frowned.

"She is yours, and you are soft on her." He murmured. "But such insolence against the Head of a Clan cannot be tolerated with a simple slap on the wrists."

"Even so, I know my daughter." Chiaki said evenly. "And I trust her. There are none among my children who better understand the protocol of Clan life than she does. She would not have left District Seven without good cause. It will not hurt to hear her speak. Then you will have all the information and can act accordingly."

"And if I still seek to confine or punish her after that point?" Kamuki raised an eyebrow, and Chiaki sighed.

"I will not stand between you and your justice." He said frankly. "Midori also knows that as well as I do."

Midori's eyes became serious.

"Yes. I know." She murmured. "I have come here knowing that I would anger you, Uncle. And also, that I may not leave here with my life. But still, I have come. Because there was nothing else for me to do. Please, dismiss your retainers. I have no will to draw Akekage and I will not fight against my blood kin if I do not have to. But this is something we must discuss as family. It is not to be said before them."

Kamuki hesitated for a moment, then raised his arm, indicating for his servants to leave. They did so, exchanging glances as they went, but none of them questioned the order, and soon the three Shihouin were alone in the spacious old study.

"Well, Midori?" It was Kamuki who broke the silence, and Midori nodded her head, stepping forward so that she stood within a few feet of where the two men sat.

"There is a plot afoot in District Seven to assassinate Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama and destroy the Academy which he has worked to build." She said softly. "The mastermind behind this plan is the man you sent me to marry, Uncle. And because of that marriage contract, he seeks to use me and that connection to take hold of Shihouin land."

"Take hold of...?" Chiaki's eyes widened, then, "_Seimaru-dono_?"

"Yes. Seimaru-dono." Midori's eyes narrowed in displeasure. "And that's not all. I cannot prove to you or anyone the level of Seimaru's manipulation or deceit, but I do know this. You will have no doubt received word by now of the death of Aitori Hideaki in District One. I claim responsibility and I have no shame or guilt for it. This man was working with the Endou-ke in this scheme - but more, he was schooling and training Kai and Tomoyuki to act as the scapegoat assassins. Seimaru's intention is to bring down the Clan - and to take hold of District Two with me as his connection."

"Kai as well?" Chiaki looked troubled, and Kamuki frowned.

"And you have no evidence for any of this, yet come in and make an announcement of that nature?" He asked softly, and Midori could tell her Uncle's temper was bubbling beneath the surface, only just being held in check as he listened to her words. "You are fool young indeed, Midori, if you think to make such a wild action out of so little proof."

"No, sir, it's not me who is foolish." Midori's own temper flared at this. "You who sent me into a foreign land with no aid or retainers...you who thought to sell the Shadow Cat of the Shihouin to an enemy Clan with little thought to my pride or my safety. _You_ are the one who has been foolish. I was angry - I am still angry. That is not the way a Princess of this Clan should be treated."

"You are mine to deploy as I see fit." Kamuki snapped back. "You are a member of this Clan and you obey the orders given you! That is you sworn duty to the Shihouin, or have you forgotten that fact?"

"Fortunately for you and for the Clan, some in District Seven have sense and reason, and saw to helping me." Midori kept her composure, fixing her Uncle with a steely glare. "Unlike people in District Two who have managed to put this family in the severest jeopardy it's been in since the last civil rift! Uncle, I will put it plainly. Aitori Hideaki's disloyalty and greed has meant that illicit substances are currently flooding regions of District One and at least one local girl was murdered because of it, with his involvement undenied. As a result, Genryuusai-sama has evidence - written, hard proof! - of the work that Father and Nii-sama do for you here behind the scenes! Proof that will destroy this Clan and, maybe, send you all to your deaths!"

She banged her hands down on the desk to emphasise her point.

"I killed Aitori, but it was already too late. All I managed to do was extricate Kai from the mess." She said in low tones, her voice trembling as the emotion she had suppressed for so long began to seep through the cracks in her exhaustion. "And so I grovelled before Genryuusai-sama and begged him for time to come here and at least do this. For he isn't a man to be bribed, Uncle. He isn't one who will hide information of this nature from the Council - you know as well as I do what this breach in regulations will mean."

"Midori..." Chiaki looked stricken, then, "So you came..."

"I came to invoke my right to the Clan, as Shadow Cat of the Shihouin." Midori said frankly, raising tear-flecked eyes to her Father's. "I came because I don't want to see this family destroyed. People I love are here. People involved in these things and I thought...at least if I could do this...then they won't take over District Two. That I can keep hold of the Clan, somehow. And try - however I might try - to invoke clemency from the Council members. Because if I didn't do this, everything would be destroyed. And the last thing I wanted...was that."

Kamuki stared at her, horror in his golden eyes as he digested her words.

"All of this...is the truth?" He whispered at length, and Midori nodded.

"On my honour as a Shihouin I swear to it." She said sombrely. "And I wish it was not."

She slid her fingers into the sash of her gown, pulling out a folded sheet of parchment and holding it out.

"This is from Genryuusai-sama." She murmured, as Kamuki took it with hesitant, trembling fingers, slowly unfolding it and smoothing it out on the desk before him. "To warn you that the activities in District Two must stop and that there will be repercussions. He marked it with his own seal so that if you doubted my word I could show you this as my proof. It was the only assurance he could give me towards my cause, given the chaos that District One have suffered at our hands already."

She sighed.

"I brought it, but I hoped you would not doubt my word, Uncle. I have done everything to put this family first, and if that means putting my own life on the line, so be it."

"From Genryuusai-sama." Kamuki's gaze drifted down the letter, then he sighed, holding the note out to Chiaki to read. "Cryptic, short yet somehow to the point. But even without it, I believe your words, my child. I see the honour in your gaze and I'm reminded of the young girl I trained so many years ago. You were always honest then, and I should not doubt you. I am sorry, Midori. It seems Chiaki was right - I needed to hear you out before I reacted to your words."

"I reached District One far too late to stop the worst of it." Midori said softly. "Or to stop Aitori from doing the things he had been doing. I have no way of knowing how long he had been plotting to betray you this way, only that it was beyond doubt that he had. In the end, all I managed to do was create a distraction and prevent a Shihouin being used in an assassination plot on Genryuusai-sama's life - I can't even speak now for Tomoyuki and whether or not he can even be saved from this. And that is only one crime and it is not the one of which we are most guilty."

"You mean, of which_ I _am most guilty." His anger draining out of him, Kamuki rubbed his temples, closing his eyes briefly. In that instant, Midori realised, her Uncle suddenly seemed old - the cares of the world having been dropped squarely on his shoulders. For a moment there was silence, then he raised his gaze to hers.

"For the sake of preventing further war, I have crossed many lines and have forced many people into doing things that could cost them their lives." He said softly. "In the end, maybe I've created the situation I sought most to prevent."

"I don't want to take the Clan away from you, but if I don't, Uncle, the Council will." Midori reached up to wipe away the tears that had begun to trickle down her cheeks. "Genryuusai-sama said he could only give me two days leeway in which to get here and convince you to hand over control of the family to me. I knew you would not like it, but I hoped you'd understand when I told you everything that I knew. If I had to challenge you formally through any other means, it would take far too much time. By the time the Council convenes and moves to arrest you, I have to be in a position whereby they can't take control of District Two as well. I'm not involved in Father's work and I believe I can convince the Council to accept me as Head of the Shihouin-ke. But if you don't agree..."

"There is nothing to agree."

Kamuki got to his feet, pulling his _zanpakutou_ from his belt and setting it down on his desk.

"A man who jeopardises the safety of his whole family based on fear should not be leader of anything, let alone a Clan of this standing." He said simply. "I should have realised, perhaps, long ago - that you inheriting the skill of the Shadow meant that my own line would not be the ones to carry on the family after all. I have always shunned your younger brother for his talents, and I have always overlooked you as anything more than the symbolic power of this Clan. Had I looked more clearly, I would have realised that making you my heirs would have been a far more logical decision. And I would not have brought others into this mire simply out of the desire to protect my surviving son."

He cast his brother a troubled look.

"I'm sorry, Chiaki. This will reflect on you too, no doubt."

"I will not run away from it, if it does. I chose to help you, after all, whatever the reasons." Chiaki said evenly.

He moved across the room, resting his hands on his daughter's shoulders.

"I have great pride in you at this moment." He said softly, and Midori could see the tears deep in his own eyes. "For the sake of the Clan, do what you think is best. I will not contest your claim, whatever fate it brings me in the future."

"Father." Midori hesitated for a moment, then flung her arms around him, hugging his broad frame tightly as she buried her head in his shoulders.

"I'll fight it as hard as I can." She said softly, her words muffled as she clung to him. "I don't want anyone else killed. I don't want to see my family's blood spilled."

"It may be too late to prevent it." Chiaki held her at arm's length. "You know it too, because I can see it in your eyes. But at least you protected Kai. And if there's you and there's him, this family will be fine."

Kamuki let out a heavy sigh.

"Chiaki, I want you to convene an urgent meeting of the Shihouin representatives in the Great Hall, with immediate effect." He said softly. "Any who do not attend will be unable to contest the decision made afterwards, so ensure as many are present as possible. I wish to speak to them, and ask them to acknowledge Midori as the head of the Shihouin-ke."

"Uncle..." Midori raised her head, glancing at him and Kamuki nodded.

"As you say, child, it is the only way." He said heavily. "For the sins I've been hiding, retribution has come. I will not lie to the representatives. They will acknowledge you, when they know why you are here. And then..."

"And then I will do what I can to minimise the damage on all levels." Midori said softly. "I know, Uncle, that you and Father have never experimented with the intention of chemicals being in widespread circulation. What Aitori did, smuggling them to District One and using the vulnerable townsfolk there was Seimaru's doing and outside of the orders of the Clan. But with no proof against Seimaru that will stick, it will be hard to convince the Council of that fact."

"The Endou are sneaky enough to outsmart even an assassin's Clan, so it seems." Kamuki murmured. "Go now, Chiaki. We don't have time to lose. District One is not far from here, and Genryuusai-sama is a man of his word."

"Yes, Nii-sama." Chiaki nodded his head, withdrawing from the room and leaving the two, niece and uncle alone.

"I will take responsibility onto my shoulders for this." Kamuki said quietly. "So do what you can to shield your brother and father from the Council's wrath. My son too, Midori - please. He is still a child and..."

"I have no intention of letting anyone be put to death, not if I can help it." Midori said firmly. "I will shut down the whole operation, and allow the Council investigators to take it to pieces if that's what they want to do. But I will stand out against any execution orders, regardless of the severity of the crime. I will appeal to the other Clans for clemency."

"Shihouin must be willing to die for their Clan, Midori. You know that as well as anyone else."

"Yes, I do." Midori nodded. "But..."

She frowned, then,

"My family is also important to me, and I think it's all right for that to be the case." She said quietly. "My travels have taught me, I think, not to take things like that for granted. That having those around you that you trust is important. I have been fortunate, Uncle. Endou Misashi-sama helped me to escape District Seven, and I have had the constant companionship of a young maidservant called Saku who has run errands, helped find my way and proven to be a godsend in all respects. I was able to speak to Kyouraku Tokutarou-sama last night, also, and he has made it unequivocably clear that he will support my claim - he also promised to carry my case to Kyouki-sama in District Five, too. If I can gain support from the other Clans..."

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"There is much to be done. Even when this is over, there is much." She said sadly. "But if I can begin without bloodshed, then I'll hope to carry on without it. We've a reputation for being assassins, but I want to develop us into something more than that. I want to discover what District Two can give...and make it that the Shihouin can never be vulnerable like this again. Somehow, Uncle, that's what I want to do. So that there's never a situation where our family are facing death for breaching the Council's decisions."

"Then do it as you see fit." Kamuki rested his hand on her shoulder. "I taught you, after all. I trained you till you summoned Akekage and learned to harness his strength to uphold your justice. I will have faith in that. Even if I die, Midori - even if we all do. Your Father's words are true. With you and Kai, the Clan will survive. And must survive, for the sake of our ancestors and our future descendants."

"More than anything I want to bring Seimaru down, but I have no way to do it." Midori admitted. "Overheard coversations are hearsay and I'm hardly an objective witness. Besides..."

"Besides?"

"To do so would also bring retribution on Misashi-sama's head, I think." Midori sighed. "And he helped me because he knew nobody else could. For the sake of both our Clans, he let me see what Seimaru was planning and allowed me to escape. We owe him a good deal and I won't repay that help by turning on him now."

"In the end, then, some good has come from the Endou alliance." Kamuki murmured, and Midori nodded.

"But the Clans are superficial and the stranglehold they have over our way of life is slowly stifling Seireitei to a point where we will eventually all destroy ourselves and one another." She said gravely. "On my travels East, Uncle, it was District people who helped me the most. Not Clan. District. Etsuo Saku, without whom I would never have made it so safely across District Eight. And Ukitake Juushirou..."

"Ukitake?" Kamuki looked startled, and Midori nodded.

"He and Misashi's son." She agreed. "In District One, helping me to keep my whereabouts secret and to convey a message to Genryuusai-sama. I will not look at the Districts the same way again, Uncle. They are not fools and they are certainly not beneath us in anything except wealth. I won't forget that in a hurry. I think...perhaps Genryuusai-sama's vision of the future is less crazy after all. We need these people...we've just never realised it."

"Ukitake is the name of the low-born child who pushed Tomoyuki out of Genryuusai-sama's top class, isn't it?" Kamuki murmured, and Midori nodded.

"So he is." She agreed softly. "And having met him I feel…no, I believe…that Genryuusai-sama's decision was right. I cannot explain the boy's existence, or how he came to possess the reiatsu he has. But I am in no doubt that he possesses power equal to anyone born at Clan level – and more, it is entirely his own. It is different, perhaps, and untrained in many ways. But he is the genuine article. And we will encounter his name again as time goes on."

"Soul Society really is changing, then." Kamuki murmured, and Midori smiled sadly.

"We can either change with it or fade and crumble under the pressure." She responded matter of factly. "This is no longer the world it was even a hundred years ago, Uncle. Clans who don't move with those changes will be obliterated by them – that seems crystal clear to me now. And I won't let the Shihouin be one of those Clans."

"Then I'll trust everything to your care." Kamuki said quietly, resignation in his expression. "And trust that a young leader of strength and principle can begin to heal the mistakes made by foolish old men."

* * *

**Author's note:**

_Yes, its mist, dammit! The watery mist kind of mist! (Er, ignore me. That will only make sense to about two people reading this, anyway...)_

_O.o 190 reviews. That's just a touch mind-blowing. __All this Juu Shun love XD. __Can we make it to 200 before the story ends?  
_

** Eimin-yaku  
**

_Eimin means eternal sleep, i.e death. Yaku is drug or medicine. Eimin-yaku is therefore a sleep medicine in the manner that Naoko explained it. I'm not going to explain it any further here, since it will become clearer in the next chapter or so.  
_

_**Hirata's Kidou**  
_

_**Hadou no 26: Kyakkou** is a spell which bends light to conceal a Shinigami from being seen. It does not conceal the Shinigami's reiatsu, and Hirata is suppressing his reiatsu alongside the spell in order to make himself completely hidden. These are both techniques he learnt as a boy to survive and grow up in the Endou household, with Seimaru constantly there to cause him suffering. Therefore when Hirata uses Kyakkou, he always uses it automatically in conjunction with reiatsu suppression. This is something I can't stress enough - though Kyakkou itself only makes people invisible to the naked eye, when Hirata uses it, it always involves reiatsu suppression at the same time. This is the combined skill Misashi taught him when he was a boy - and one he's used ever since that point. I've spent a little time mentioning the Shihouin skill at keeping themselves hidden - it can be assumed that Hirata's ability to do the same is at least on a par with Kai and Onoe's...possibly even greater._

_As I've said to a few people, because Hirata is failing in Ouyoudou and scrapes awful grades in kenjutsu, his average is brought down and so he ranks 5th or 6th usually on class lists. But taking that into account, in order to keep his ranking at that level, he has to be skilled in the other areas...right? :) That's why I keep telling folk not to underestimate him - just because he has little confidence or physical presence doesn't mean he's necessarily weak...  
_

_Cookies for anyone who realises where Hirata used his technique in the story first...? (Answer will be in the next couple of chapters XD)  
_


	33. Aut Vincere Aut Mori

**Chapter Thirty Two: Aut Vincere Aut Mori**

Almost twenty four hours on, and there was still no word.

Genryuusai moved along the hallways of the old estate, a frown on his wrinkled, wizened features as he ran over the events of the previous few hours in his mind. Though men had been dispatched across District One, they had not been able to trace any sign of Hirata, and though there seemed little doubt that Seimaru had visited the school, he had found it impossible to clearly link the two events together. Seimaru too had disappeared – or perhaps, retreated just beyond the scope of District One's patrols, for if Aitori had been acting in his interests, he had probably a better idea of First District's security than most foreign nobles visiting the area.

Genryuusai had never had a high opinion of Seimaru's intelligence, but even so, he had begun to wonder exactly how far the young man's scheme had spread.

_That you were responsible for that town wench's death, I am now certain. That you also caused great distress to others in the town, and corrupted Aitori to your bidding – I am sure of this, too. Now your cousin disappears, and I have no choice but to once more draw the line in your direction. Yet you have covered your tracks impeccably, Seimaru. For one so young and so brazen, I wonder…did you have help, then, in figuring out your scheme? Or have I simply underestimated the intellect of Shouichi's ambitious young grandson after all?_

His eyes became near slits.

_And you've become so brazen as to think you can threaten my life? Yet you must know that your sword is no match for mine. What manner of weapon do you have, then, that makes you so sure? Does it connect to the ill-advised Shihouin-ke and Aitori's work, after all? Perhaps there are deeper roots in all of this – but even so, even I cannot unearth those roots without at least some clue to there whereabouts. My thinking matters nothing at all when dealing with Clan actions. The Shihouin-ke should not bear all the weight themselves – yet even Midori seemed to know that they will probably have to do so._

At that moment he reached the ground floor, former servant quarters now converted into what was known as 'confinement'. Beyond this point only those who had committed the gravest of sins and their disciplinarians were permitted to tread, and each small chamber had been identically furnished in basic style, with no more than a futon, a small table and a chamber pot. The windows were small and high up, allowing just enough light in to allow the occupant to see to read or write, and school-approved text books were stacked on a wooden shelf opposite the door, encouraging the miscreant to focus their time on their studies as opposed to continuing their mischief. Each door had a specific slit carved in it to allow food to be given twice a day – at sunrise and sunset – but otherwise the student was more or less isolated from the outside world.

The rooms led out onto a small yard, ten feet by ten feet square, into which a student confined for longer than twenty four hours would be given compulsory exercise for an hour in each day. Given the nature of his crime, however, Genryuusai had instructed that Tomoyuki was to be denied this privilege and as a result he had been kept to his chamber ever since the fight with Kai and Juushirou in the school grounds.

He would remain there until proper arrangements could be made to return him to his home district, yet in the meantime Genryuusai saw no reason to treat the boy with mercy.

_Grief is something a soldier does not act on. Grief is irrational and provokes recklessness. You were reckless, Onoe. And I will not forgive you for raising a blade against your school fellows, no matter what the provocation. My students do not act out of raw emotion. They act with planning and precision and I have no use for Clan hotheads in my training program._

"Sensei!"

As he rounded the corner towards the furthermost room or 'cell' that housed the hapless Tomoyuki, a voice accosted him and he paused, seeing Gujihara Tetsu hurrying towards him. There was a look of anxiety in his eyes, and at the sight of it, a curl of unease began to work its way up inside of Genryuusai's aging chest.

"What is it?" He asked sharply, as his kinsman reached him, bowing his head briskly towards his senior as he did so.

"Onoe, sir." Gujihara said urgently. "Unohana's with him, but…he isn't…he wasn't…"

"Onoe?" Genryuusai felt his fears grow, and he pushed the substantial student aside, hurrying down the hallway. "What do you mean, boy? Tell me plainly. Why is Madeki here? What has happened to Onoe? Has someone been down here, or slacked their observation duty?"

"Nobody has spoken to Onoe since we brought him here, except for us." Gujihara shook his head firmly. "Sensei, I promise – I swear nobody has been in or out of isolation in that time. One of us has always been with him, even through the night. But still…"

"But still?"

"We couldn't wake him this morning, Sensei." At that moment Yunosuke stepped out of the shadows, consternation on his own features. "When I came to take over from Haru, Onoe was sleeping. I wanted to ask him something, so I sought to wake him – but I could not. And when he did not stir, I saw…he was very pale. Gujihara was with me, and I sent him to get Madeki at once, since Unohana-sensei is still away in District Four. And I was about to send for you too, only…"

"Only you hoped that whatever had happened could be resolved without needing to report it formally?" Genryuusai asked softly, and Yunosuke nodded.

"If there is blame it's on my head, for that was my decision." He said soberly. "You gave us instruction not to leave Onoe alone, and Haru had already left by the time I noticed something was amiss. Gujihara was the only other one present – and since I thought Onoe unwell, I sent…"

"For a healer first of all." Genryuusai sighed, nodding his head. "No, your judgement is sound. However, what I want to know is what could have occurred with all this supervision that means the boy won't stir? Let me through, Yunosuke. Let me see for myself."

"Yes, Sensei." Yunosuke stood aside, and Genryuusai stepped into the small confinement cell, taking in the pale, huddled form on the floor. As he did so, Madeki glanced up, gravity in his dark eyes.

"He's not dead, Sensei, but I don't know if I can help him." He said softly. "He's breathing but it's soft and faint and his reiatsu has dropped even since I came here. I'm pretty sure it's some kind of poison – something he must have had concealed on him when we brought him here. Something we failed to notice…something he must have taken with his food without our realising."

"He is a Shihouin." Genryuusai gazed down at the boy's still form, his heart heavy as he took in his student's youthful features. "And he has compounded one foolish act with another. Retsu is not within easy reach, and to summon her would take too long even with the shunpo skills you and she both possess."

"We searched him for weaponry when we brought him here, but found nothing." Yunosuke said guiltily. "But poison is something discreet – something he could easily have concealed. Though in honesty I don't know where…we were very thorough and he was quite unconscious after his fight with Ukitake. He wasn't resistant at all."

"The Shihouin are known for their skills with herbs and poisons." Genryuusai said pensively. "Some of their potions act immediately, and some take some time to develop. It is more than possible that he ingested the substance long before he was in your custody, Yunosuke. Before he even went to fight Midori. Maybe he took it with the intention of killing her and then himself, to prevent being hauled to justice for it. This is the Shihouin way, after all. This is how they are."

He bent down, reaching out a finger to touch the boy's brow.

"He is weak indeed." He murmured. "Without intervention he will no doubt not last much longer. I imagine he didn't intend to be interrogated – which means that he knew something and did not want to share it with anyone."

"Something connected to Aitori-sensei?" Madeki asked, and Genryuusai nodded.

"Most probably." He agreed. "Make him comfortable, Madeki, and do all you can to keep him stable. I realise you are fighting a losing battle – to move him from here would be pointless, since there is nobody in the Healing Bay who could administer an antidote to a Shihouin poison without knowing the exact components. Still, do your best in any case. I will not hold you responsible if you fail – it is my responsibility as a teacher to have foreseen this possibility, after all."

"Yes, Sensei." Madeki said gravely.

"What did you want to ask him, Yunosuke?" Genryuusai asked, and Yunosuke frowned.

"Ukitake wanted me to ask him about the Endou kid." He said sadly. "He said that nobody else knew anything, but maybe Onoe might. But I haven't been able to, so if he did, it's useless now."

"Endou Hirata is still missing." Genryuusai said gravely. "District One's retainers have not found any trace of him in the surrounding area. They are moving further afield, but I have doubts as to how far a young boy of such a nervous disposition could get on his own – and I worry he is not on his own. Perhaps Onoe did know something – but either way, for now it remains unspoken."

He eyed the still form once more, then got stiffly to his feet.

"I will send a message to District Four, even if it is a futile aim." He said quietly. "I may have discarded him as my student, but he still has potential information we might need. Besides, I dislike looking at death in such a young face. He is no longer welcome here, but he is far too much a child to know that he has done all he ever needs to with his life."

"You can't come through here, you silly kid!"

Gujihara's words from the corridor outside pierced through the old man's reverie, and he glanced up sharply, seeing the senior student grab hold of someone, holding them firmly as they struggled against his grip.

"But Onoe-kun!" He heard a female voice say, and at the sound of it, shock rippled through his senses.

"Edogawa Mitsuki." He murmured, stepping into the hall and closing the door of the cell behind him. "What on earth are you doing here, child? Gujihara is right, this is no place for first years. Have you taken leave of your senses?"

"Onoe-kun is dying, isn't he?" Mitsuki raised tearful, anguished eyes to her head-teacher, reaching out her hand to him as if begging him to listen to her. "He's all alone and he's slipping into mist and darkness. He's getting weaker and I can barely feel him now – Sensei…"

"She's on the verge of full blown hysteria, Sensei." Gujihara glanced at his prisoner, then, "Shall I take her back to the first year dorm? Or the Healing Bay? Because…"

"No, please...please don't take me back. I can't…I don't…please don't take me there." Mitsuki's eyes became huge and she shook her head, panic rippling through her aura. "Please let me see…I want to see…Onoe-kun!"

"What has got into you, child?" Genryuusai put a gentle hand on her head, eying her in confusion. "This isn't like you – to break rules so blatantly and in this manner. What do you mean? Quiet yourself, please. And tell me calmly. Nobody will take you anywhere if you don't want them to, but I can't understand you when you're like this."

Mitsuki closed her eyes, drawing a heavy breath into her lungs, then,

"Onoe-kun took Eimin-yaku." She murmured. "He must have taken it before yesterday evening. I didn't know…no one knew. But even so, he took it. I can feel it, pricking at his aura. He took it and now…it's eating him, little by little. He's lost in mist."

"Eimin?" Genryuusai's eyes narrowed. "And how would you know that?"

"I can feel it." Mitsuki's tears ran unchecked down her cheek as she gazed up at her companion helplessly. "I can't explain how, just…I can. I know what it feels like. I know…because…"

She took another deep, shuddery breath, then,

"My mother did the same." She murmured. "My mother took Eimin because she wanted to sleep and sleep forever. She was ill and tired of the pain, and I felt her…she did it for me, because it hurt…and I hurt…and she wanted…"

"You're getting incoherent again." Genryuusai said sharply, and Mitsuki shook her head as if to clear it.

"I can feel it, when people are in pain." She whispered. "Retsu-sama said it was because I was a healer…but I can, all the time. No matter who or where, I know. And when Okaasama was sick, it used to upset me too. Inside and outside and she hated it – even though she knew it wasn't her fault. So when it got really bad, she decided that she would just go to sleep. But she didn't want anyone to know…so she took it…and slowly it took her away. Bit by bit, it ate up her reiatsu until she died. And I felt it, when she died. I felt all of it."

"And now Onoe…?"

Mitsuki nodded.

"It felt the same." She murmured. "And he's disappearing into mist. I can feel it. He's afraid of it. I don't think…he doesn't want to die. Only…because of Shihouin-kun…and because of everything…"

"He thought he was doing his duty." Genryuusai rubbed his temples. "I had no idea you were a healer, Mitsuki. I confess it's an area I know little about, though if Retsu-sama said as much to you, I'm sure it must be true. But even if you are right, I don't know what antidote can reverse the effects of Eimin."

"Madeki might, though." Gujihara suggested. "Unless…Edogawa, do you know?"

Mitsuki shook her head miserably.

"Mother took it so no one would know. So nobody would be able to stop her. Only I know she did, and I couldn't stop it." She said brokenly. "No one else knows she died that way. Everyone else thinks it was…was just her illness, in the end."

Genryuusai pursed his lips.

"Edogawa, you come with me." He said quietly. "Gujihara, take what she's said and mention it to Madeki. If he knows of a remedy, do as he instructs you to do, and obtain whatever he needs to still the poison in the boy's system. If it acts slowly, we may have some time yet…though I wouldn't like to know how long. If it consumes reiatsu…"

He paused, then,

"But for now, that's all we can do." He said frankly. "And there's nothing more you can do here, Edogawa – even if you are worried. You're in the way, and so will I be, now. Far better to come with me and calm down – you'll frighten your classmates if they see you like this."

"Please let me see him." Mitsuki begged, grasping hold of the old man's _hakama_ sleeves as she sent him a beseeching look. "Please, Sensei. Just for a moment. Let me..."

"What do you imagine you could do?" Genryuusai demanded, and Mitsuki shook her head.

"Maybe nothing." She whispered. "But I had a dream, and I felt like...in his subconscious, he called to me. I felt him moving away...maybe if I saw him...maybe I could reach him somehow."

"You had a dream? About Onoe-kun?" Genryuusai's eyes narrowed, and Mitsuki nodded miserably.

"Yes, sir."

"I see." Genryuusai's lips disappeared behind the heavy bristle of his moustache, then he nodded. "Very well. You may see him briefly, and tell Madeki your suspicions yourself."

"Sensei?" Gujihara looked astounded, and Genryuusai sighed.

"It's unusual, but when I first began to train Retsu-dono, she too had dreams about those around her in pain." He said quietly. "Even the most powerful Unohana rarely have such sensitive wits. For Edogawa to come here like this, and to say what she's said - it seems clear that she has a talent of a similar nature that's only just beginning to make itself known. Onoe's case may well be hopeless - but there's just the faintest chance, if he did reach out in fear and if he did make a connection to the girl - that he can yet be saved. Tetsu, I want you to go send a summons to District Four instead. We'll do what we can here, whatever that may be."

"Yes, sir." Gujihara still looked mystified, but he disappeared nonetheless, and gently Genryuusai took Mitsuki by the arm, sliding the door back once more to admit them both to the small cell.

"Madeki, Edogawa wants to speak to the boy." He said softly, as Madeki shot them a startled look. "I realise it's unusual, particularly for a Kuchiki to come to the aid of a Shihouin. But it seems Edogawa is not an average Kuchiki, and her desire to help is stronger than her sense of Clan rivalry. I'd like to nurture that, if I can - so this once I will humour her request."

Madeki pursed his lips, shuffling across to allow Mitsuki to drop down beside him.

"The child had a dream and sensed Onoe's drifting." Genryuusai added. "It seems Retsu-dono has picked her out as having keen healer's senses - and it seems that she's right."

Madeki eyed Mitsuki keenly.

"And you came to help him, because of that?" He asked, and Mitsuki nodded.

"I don't know any Kidou healing spells. None at all." She murmured softly. "But I always know when someone is in pain. And I had a dream...he was like a shadow, drifting away in mist. But he was scared, too, and it jarred against my senses. And I couldn't not come, even if I got into trouble."

She settled herself more comfortably, then,

"Senpai, in my dream, I could feel Eimin-yaku." She added quietly, and Madeki looked startled, then nodded his head.

"For a slow acting poison of this nature, it seems a logical suggestion." He agreed.

"You agree with her suspicions?" Genryuusai asked, and Madeki nodded again.

"It's the most logical explanation." He said grimly. "Sensei, Eimin-yaku doesn't have an antidote. It's a reiatsu-sapping herbal compound which gradually sucks the spirit out of the person until they fade into nothing at all. It eats reiatsu - at a gradual rate, it breaks it down and prevents the body from generating more. In the end, that weakness submerges the patient in sleep. And then they die."

"Then it is always fatal?" Genryuusai looked troubled, and Madeki shook his head.

"If an individual has enough strength, they can survive." He murmured. "If they have significant reiatsu to begin with, they can sometimes withstand it until the drug has worn through their system and worked its way through. But Onoe isn't powerful enough to fight off its effects. Those who do survive it generally have stunted spirit power from that point on - nobody ever recovers without scars."

He paused, then,

"In the past it was used as an emergency remedy to the sense-enhancing chemicals the Urahara-ke tested and tried." He added softly. "But nowadays there isn't that need, and so it isn't usually used for anything except to cause death. It's become an assassin's weapon - a poison that acts when the killer is miles away. And a poison that an assassin can take before committing an atrocity, in order that he won't be questioned afterwards."

"That's most likely what the silly boy has done." Genryuusai sighed heavily. "Too young to be trusted with such heavy burdens. Tell me, Madeki - would his aggression have been heightened because of the potion, too?"

"No, I suspect that was fear and grief more than anything else." Madeki shook his head. "Eimin-yaku is a soporific that acts slowly and steals people's lives till they sleep. It doesn't have any other effect than that - but knowing he had limited time and knowing he was going to die...it may have affected his judgement and his actions."

Mitsuki took a deep breath, gently reaching out her hand to brush his brow.

"Maybe if I can find him, he won't fade away." She whispered, and Madeki eyed her doubtfully.

"Even if you are a healer, with no training...do you think you can locate a fragmented spirit and hold it steady enough to keep him alive?" He asked. "I've tried already to find him, but without success. And you're too raw to be expected to hang on to another's life force for any period of time. It would put you in danger too."

"But if Edogawa can find him, Madeki, maybe then you can help him?" Genryuusai asked.

Madeki nodded.

"I can try." He admitted. "But Sensei...there is another problem. If you're hoping to interrogate him, well..."

He paused, then shook his head.

"Memories are comprised of reiatsu, too." He said frankly. "It's not for sure that he'd even remember his own self, let alone anything over the last few days."

Genryuusai was silent for a moment, then,

"He's been foolish, but I dislike the unecessary shedding of young life." He said quietly. "We will try, therefore, even if we are unsuccessful. I was prepared to report to a Clan if a child died in conflict last night. I am not prepared to make a report of one dying of poison in a confinement cell where he was under observation. We will do what we can - whatever that may be."

He glanced at Mitsuki.

"Can you sense him?"

Mitsuki frowned, then slowly nodded her head.

"He's very faint, but I feel it. The same traces of reiatsu as I felt in my dream." She agreed. "Senpai, if you put your hand over mine, maybe you'll feel it too."

"Well, it's worth a try." Madeki agreed, doing as he was bidden. "Whether we save him or not, Sensei's right. Healers do whatever they have to do to save life, no matter what. So we'll try, Edogawa. We'll do the best we can - and hope that it's enough."

* * *

"In a sense, it almost feels like a hollow victory."

Midori sank down onto the cushions, letting out a heavy sigh as she gazed at the gold key and wax seal that symbolised her position as head of the Shihouin-ke. An hour earlier, she had been unanimously invested with the title and honour of the Shihouin, after her Uncle's difficult and awkward confessions had sent shockwaves burning through the core of the family as a whole. Most of the members had been blissfully unaware of the dark dealings in the shadows of the Clan, and it had been a harsh wake-up call for many how close to the precipice they stood. Not even Aitori or Onoe's closest kin had made a murmur of objection to Midori's claim to power - and the entire ceremony had been efficient, short, and somehow insubstantial.

Yet it was over and done, witnessed and authorised by the representatives of the Clan. In name and deed, Midori was now the official head of the Shihouin - and the one for whom the burden of power and responsibility would now fall.

"Saku, I don't know how I expected to feel. Relieved. Happy. Worried...I don't know. But I think I feel empty. That it's come to this - that I've come home like this, with so much still at stake."

Saku turned from the window, casting her mistress a concerned look.

"Midori-sama, forgive me for asking, but your family...will they be in grave danger of their lives?" She asked quietly, and Midori nodded.

"The chemicals Father has been working on under Uncle's orders are illegal in all of Seireitei." She said sadly. "They were outlawed by the Council a long time ago and the harshest penalties were placed on anyone caught involving themselves in such illicit work. Uncle has played a dangerous, desperate game and Aitori's actions have caught up with him. We were too late, in the end, to cover all of the tracks successfully. Once that town girl died...people were going to notice that something was amiss. That there was such a flow of chemical abuse in that area - even in the short time we were there, it was noticeable. That the Shihouin should be linked to such a thing in their own district is questionable enough, but in another...yes, Saku. They are in very grave danger of their lives."

Saku sighed, her eyes becoming troubled as she digested her companion's words.

"Then it isn't only those in the District who can be punished by association." She reflected. "Even the noble Clans can be, too."

"Punished by association? I suppose so, if you mean Kai and I." Midori nodded. "And by reputation, of course - our family name will be dragged through the mud in all sectors, particularly the Kuchiki-ruled ones. They'll delight in this - the stiff old frump in charge most of all since he hates us all more than the rats that scurry round his tenants' grain barns. But the ones who will be condemned will be the ones who are guilty. Father. Uncle. Nii-sama. Maybe my cousin, though as a child he may well escape the worst of the blame. Yet it will be a heavy burden to bear if it comes to that. I am not looking forward to their coming, Saku. When the investigators arrive...I am not looking forward to it at all."

"Change is an end and a beginning." Saku murmured, and Midori looked surprised.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I'm sorry." Saku flushed, bowing her head hastily towards her companion. "I did not mean to speak out of turn."

"No...speak to me." Midori shook her head. "You have shown me loyalty since we left District Seven, even at risk of your life. I intend to reward that loyalty - and I trust you. I'd like you to speak to me as you see fit - I will not punish you for saying your thoughts aloud when it is just the two of us."

Saku eyed Midori for a moment, then she nodded her head.

"Yes, mistress." She murmured, and Midori snorted.

"Mistress will also have to go, since I intend to train you, not belittle you." She said pragmatically. "Your senses are far too keen to be ignored and I won't ignore them. Midori-sama is enough for the time being - I will accept that, since I'm sure it would damage your pride to suggest anything else. But mistress is no longer welcome. Understood?"

"Y...Yes, Midori-sama." Saku looked startled, then she smiled.

"I'm glad I came with you." She added softly. "Even if it has been dangerous. Whatever happens in District Two, I believe the Shihouin-ke can come through it. If Midori-sama is leading them, then this Clan will be fine."

"You've been in bad situations yourself, I know." Midori's gaze became thoughtful. "You haven't spoken to me in more than brief and cryptic sentences about it, but I've realised it all the same. You were uncomfortable in District Eight, and you were glad, I think, to leave it. You mentioned your family having been turned off Kyouraku land - will you share with me your misfortune now we are in the middle of mine?"

Saku's expression became shadowed, then she sighed.

"Misfortune is a part of life, so far as I can see it." She said at length. "My mother died and Father had spent our money on treating her, so we went to the Kyouraku for help. Father was employed by the local Kyouraku lord, and it was enough so as I would be able to have my childhood unmolested. But I knew and so did he that when I came to eighteen, I would not be presented for marriage. I would go into service at the estate. It was arranged and agreed. That was how things were."

"And you are now what age, may I ask?" Midori pursed her lips, and Saku pinkened.

"Nineteen, Midori-sama. I will be twenty when the leaves start to bronze and fall from the trees."

"Nineteen." Midori nodded. "Very well. So you did not go into service for the Kyouraku after all?"

"N...no." Saku sighed, then, "I do not think Midori-sama would like to hear the full extent of my story. You may think me disrespectful or naive - you may even be angry with me for presuming things I had no idea I was presuming."

"I will hear it, nonetheless." Midori said quietly, and Saku nodded slowly.

"I grew up in close proximity to the Lord's nephew." She said softly. "We played together often and we were very close. Too close, in the end. As children who know nothing about the world can be."

"The Lord's nephew." Midori's eyes became slits. "Then..."

"Kyouraku Shunsui-sama." Saku dropped her gaze. "Because of our friendship, Father and I were turned out and Father died of disease some two years later. I left District Eight because I did not want to see Shunsui-sama again. It was too painful...and I knew by then that what might have been between children couldn't be between young adults. We knew too much, both of us. We were from different worlds. I did not realise how I was disrespecting his Clan at the time - or how close I was to sacrificing my honour without realising it. But now I know those things. So I didn't ever want to go back."

Midori beckoned for the young woman to join her, and Saku did so, hesitating a few feet away from where her mistress sat.

"You were in love with a Prince and lost your whole world because of it." She said frankly. "I wondered, you know, what your connection was to that family. And your knowledge of Shunsui-dono's character was somewhat bothering me, also. But I'm not angered at it, nor do I consider you disrespectful. You were a child who didn't understand. Now you are an adult - or near enough - and you do. For his sake and for yours you have both acted wisely. There is nothing to criticise in that."

She gestured for Saku to sit down, and Saku knelt obediently on the floor before her.

"You still love him, though, all the same." She murmured, and Saku nodded.

"Maybe I'll always feel that way." She agreed. "But I won't go back on my decision. I'm here by your side now, Midori-sama. I won't stray back to District Eight, no matter how difficult your situation becomes or how strongly I feel. I've made a promise and I'll keep it. This will be my home now, so long as Midori-sama wants me here."

Midori smiled.

"I do want you here, very much." She said evenly. "And I am quite serious about training you to do more than simply attend to a lady's needs. I won't be an average lady, after all. It may come to it, Saku, that you will find life here enjoyable and challenging. Certainly you will have the privileges you have earned as my trusted companion and invaluable ally during the past few weeks. I will ensure that everything you need to live safely in District Two will be done - and in return I ask for your continued loyalty and dedication. Do you think that is a fair offer, without insulting your own pride? Because low you might have fallen, but I do not consider your kin to be of a level below the Ukitake boy's."

"It is a fair offer, Midori-sama." Saku nodded her head once more. "And I accept it with gratitude."

"And if, in the future, I was to find a suitable person for you to marry, in order to further my ambitions - would you then accept that offer, or would your heart refuse it?"

"My heart has no say in those things." Saku said quietly. "I have become a pragmatist, and a realist...whatever I was as a girl. I did not come here expecting any such honours or attentions, and I will live happily without them. But if it will be to Midori-sama's benefit, I will not try to object."

She smiled faintly.

"I should like to try and be happy too, in the end, and maybe with time I could be." She reflected. "At the moment it is too soon - but in time..."

"Too soon for any of us with political upheaval on the horizon." Midori agreed. "In the meantime, it's far more important to me to prepare my case for the Council and to begin training you as my aide and as a fighter in your own right. You may learn to kill people, and I won't apologise for teaching you. It may be you never use it - but I want you to be able to, if ever it comes to a case of your life versus theirs."

Before Saku could respond, however, there was a knock on the door of the chamber, and Midori frowned, even as Saku scrambled to her feet to open it.

"Midori-sama, my apologies for the interruption." A guardsman stood beyond, dressed in the retinue that still marked out her Uncle's retainers, and at his expression, Midori pulled herself into a more upright position, eying him warily.

"What business brings you here?" She asked, her heart clenching as she considered whether Genryuusai's time limit might have already passed and even now investigators might be at her gates.

"From District One, my lady. Someone has come claiming to need to speak to you."

"District One?" Saku paled, and Midori bit her lip.

"Did this someone give a name?" She asked quietly. "And were they allowed to saunter past border patrols as they saw fit?"

"No, my lady." The guard coloured, shaking his head. "He was arrested trying to slip across into District Two. He claimed an acquaintance with you, however, and said it was of some urgency. He carried a Clan crest, and so..."

"A Clan crest?" Midori's eyes became slits. "A Yamamoto one?"

"No, my Lady. The crest of the Endou-ke...forgive me, but I thought it might be...a message from your..."

"Seimaru-dono wll no longer be my fiance." Midori snapped quickly, before the man could finish his halting insinuation. "If I am head of this Clan and he is to be head of theirs, there are no grounds for marriage. That arrangement will be immediately annulled - you may not speak of him before me in that way again."

"Yes, Midori-sama." The guardsman bowed hurriedly. "Only, the boy..."

"Perhaps it is Hirata-sama, Midori-sama." Saku said softly, and Midori's eyes widened with surprise.

"Hirata...?"

"The boy gave his name as Endou Hirata, my lady." The guard recovered himself, nodding his head. "A messy, miserable figure he cuts too. A boy of fifteen or sixteen - no more. Looks far too scrawny and thin to be an Endou, but even so..."

"Bring him before me." Midori cut across him once more, consternation and curiosity burning in her golden eyes. "Immediately. Endou Hirata is the son of an important ally of this family - if he has come here, I will see him at once."

"Yes, Midori-sama." The guard withdrew, and Midori and Saku exchanged looks.

"Hirata, here?" It was Midori who broke the silence. "But what on earth would he be here for? I don't understand. It's not an easy trek."

Saku looked troubled, then,

"Perhaps something has happened about which he wishes to warn you, Midori-sama."

"Perhaps so." Midori sighed. "But even so, to come here...it's a reckless act and risky to say the least. With Hollows on the horizon and who knows what other dangers lurking in the shadows - he's foreign to this territory and to District One. How could he know he would be able to even see me? Had I denounced him..."

"Midori-sama is someone in whose word he can trust." Saku responded. "I believe it, and I think, so does he."

"Mm." Midori pursed her lips. "Then I suppose I'll hear him out and find out what he's come here to do."

"Midori-sama, Endou Hirata-sama to see you at once." The guard reappeared at that moment, and Midori's eyes opened wide as she caught sight of Hirata's thorn-ripped, dishevelled clothing and tearstained cheeks. She nodded, gesturing for the guard to leave them.

"Please tell my maidservants that we have an important guest, and that a room should be prepared at once, with a bath and a change of clothes befitting a young man of noble blood." She said quietly. "Hirata-sama is my ally and will be treated as such - see that it is done at once."

"Yes, ma'am." The guard looked faintly confused, but saluted her anyway, disappearing to carry out his errand. Hirata stood in the doorway of the chamber, looking uncertain and pitiful, and Midori raised her hand once more, indicating for him to come in.

"Close the door, Hirata, and take a seat." She said gently. "Then tell me, if you can, why you are here."

"Midori-sama." Hirata's eyes filled with fresh tears as he realised she was not going to turn him away, and he hurried forward, sinking to his knees before her as he reached out to clasp her extended fingers beseechingly in his. "I didn't know if I could see you - I didn't know if you'd see me. But I didn't know what else to do. Or where else to go."

Something in his desperation suddenly struck the young noblewoman and her lips thinned.

"This has something to do with Seimaru, doesn't it?" She asked quietly, and Hirata nodded.

"Yes." He whispered. "Everything to do with him. Please, Midori-sama. I need your help. I don't know if you will give it, but you're the only person to whom I could come...for this favour, the only one in all of Seireitei who might listen and understand."

Midori took a deep breath into her lungs, then,

"Tell me." She said quietly, and slowly and awkwardly Hirata choked out everything that had happened since the night of the confrontation.

As he faltered and fell silent, fury burned through the young woman's body and it was all she could do not to let out a cry of rage.

"That creature knows only too well how best to hurt and manipulate those around him." She murmured. "To continue so brazenly - he must feel confident that such an act now would look like Shihouin guilt proven positive, especially since it's known Genryuusai-sama has evidence against us. It might even incriminate Kai or I - and that would be the end of the Clan completely. And as for you...and his threats against your friends..."

She sighed.

"You were brave to defy him, knowing he could kill you. And braver still to run, so as not to involve those who were not already involved." She said at length. "You are right, Hirata. I was the person to come to. This is my problem as well as yours - we are both bound to this because of Seimaru's actions. And if he's given you the same ultimatum as Genryuusai-sama gave to me, he must mean serious business. Tell me, what of Tomoyuki since I left?"

"He was in confinement and under the watch of the Seniors. Seimaru can't see him, which is why he took me." Hirata said slowly. "He thought he would scare or threaten me into acting. He said he could kill me, so far from home, without Grandmother making repercussions for him. But I can't...I won't hurt Sensei. And I don't want Ukitake-kun or anyone else to be hurt. I...I'm not strong enough to fight Seimaru. Not yet. But..."

"But I might be?" Midori asked gently, and Hirata reddened, nodding his head.

"And you seek to call on the alliance we forged, knowing that I already owe you and your Father a debt and that this might be an opportunity to repay it." Midori sighed. "And when I've only just arrived home, as well. Investigators will be here in a matter of hours...but you're right. I can't sit back and do nothing when it's Seimaru acting against you and against my Clan. Genryuusai-sama's view of the world is a lot more realistic to me now than it was a few months ago - and far more realistic than Seimaru's warped desire for power. Very well, Hirata. I will help you. I will come back to District One...and I will speak to Seimaru myself."

"Won't that be dangerous, Midori-sama?" Saku looked anxious, and Midori shrugged.

"You don't need to come, if you'd rather stay here. Hirata, the same applies to you." She replied. "As it is, you're probably both safer in District Two for the time being anyway."

"No...if Midori-sama is going, I intend to go with you." Saku said firmly. "That's my job, after all. To be by your side even if it's dangerous."

"Me too." Hirata looked troubled, but he nodded his head. "I didn't come here to rest or to hide. I came to get help. But I...I don't want to just run away. I do that all the time...but not this time. I intend to come back with you too, Midori-sama. I want Seimaru to know that I'm not just a mouse who squeaks alone in his corner. I'm old enough and smart enough to have alliances of my own - and that I'm not so easy for him to break down now."

Midori cast him a glance, then she smiled.

"Then the first thing you should do is go wash and change." She suggested. "So as you at least look like a noble son, not a drowned rat. I can't do anything about your glasses, whatever happened to them on your trip here. But if we're going back to District One, you're going to at least look presentable. Saku, take him and hand him over to the people who robed you when we first arrived. It won't take long for them to tidy him up, and I must speak to Uncle before we go."

She sighed, then,

"I wanted to be here when the investigators arrived, so my trip will have to be brief and even then I may not make it." She added. "But we will go by horse and we will travel via the shortest route to the border and beyond. In the meantime I'll prepare Uncle for the possibility of my absence."

"Is it really okay?" Hirata looked anxious, and Midori nodded.

"It will be." She said evenly. "Answering the call of my allies is a precious duty and one I can't forsake. After all, I need those allies as much as they need me...now and certainly in the months to come. Go with Saku, Hirata, and trust my people to see you right. We leave as soon as possible - and I'll put Seimaru under no illusions about how things are going to pan out from hereon in."

* * *

"Everything is still all over the place."

Shunsui flopped back on the grass, gazing up at the blue patches of sky that peeked through between the heavily leafed branches. "I don't know about anyone else, but the whole atmosphere is starting to really get to me. If it's not one thing, it's another. Ever since Megumi was murdered...it's just got heavier and heavier."

"Hardly surprising, considering a teacher was also taken out." Sora sighed, shaking her head as if to clear it. "And now with Onoe as well..."

"Mm." Shunsui's gaze shifted across to Mitsuki, who sat a little distance away, pale and distracted with a faraway look in her grey eyes. "Mitsuki-chan, are you with us or are you away with the fairies? Did Onoe worry you that much, that even now you're thinking about him?"

"I'm sorry?" Mitsuki turned, looking surprised, and Shunsui sighed.

"You are worried." He said quietly. "But Madeki-senpai was able to reach him with your help, wasn't he? The kid is still alive - right?"

"Alive. Yes." Mitsuki looked troubled. "But that may be all it is. I'm sorry, Kyouraku-kun. I'm not trying to be negative. But..."

"You know a lot more about this than any of us." Sora told her gently. "It's all right, Mitsuki-chan. If you feel that way - going to help him was the right thing to do. Retsu-sama would probably say as much as well."

"Kai's still in the Healing Bay, Onoe's in confinement because moving him or otherwise seems to be too risky and no one wants to have the two of them anywhere near one another considering what happened the last time they were." Shunsui said slowly. "Hirata's still missing. Juu's beside himself and it's taking a toll on _his_ health, which worries me...he came back to the dorm in a state last night and even though he says he's okay, he was definitely running a fever this morning. Kuchiki refuses to say anything to help the situation and has shut himself in the library to get away from the 'Shihouin hysteria'. Houjou means well but he's not really that good at patching up Juu's worrying. Besides, there's nothing to patch it up with. Hirata's been gone a full twenty four hours - maybe more by now. They've searched all over the place but no trace of him has been found anywhere. What are we meant to do but worry, given that?"

"As you said." Sora rolled over onto her stomach, resting her chin in her hands. "It's sucking all the fun out of being here, all these political things getting in the way. And as for Hirata..."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Mitsuki hasn't had any kind of feeling about him." She continued evenly. "She was crying in her sleep about that idiot Onoe, but she hasn't said a word about Hirata. So I guess I don't think he's been hurt. I think if he had been, we'd know."

"Are your senses that sharp, Mitsuki-chan?" Shunsui looked surprised. "I know you felt it when Megumi died, but even so..."

"I know Hirata-kun, and I know his reiatsu well." Mitsuki nodded. "If he was hurt, I think I'd feel it - at least so long as he was in District One. But I haven't."

"As long as he was in District One?" Shunsui's eyes narrowed. "What if someone decided to take him home?"

"To District Seven? It might have happened like that." Sora frowned. "But if it did, at least he's with his family and they ought to let us know. Rather than worry that he's been eaten by a Hollow. The kid's quiet, but you know, I'm surprised at how much I notice him not being here. Maybe it's the knock on effects of his vanishing - or everything else that's been going on of late."

"So this is where you are."

At that moment Enishi's voice cut through the conversation, and Shunsui turned, glancing up at the tall boy as he cast his substantial shadow across the grass. As he did so, he caught sight of the individual in his classmate's wake, and he sighed, shaking his head slowly.

"Juu, you're supposed to be sleeping off your fever." He said reproachfully. "What are you doing out here?"

"Not sleeping, evidently." Juushirou said frankly, sinking down onto the grass and shooting his friend a rueful smile. "I can't just sit up there, not while I'm worried. And I can't sleep while I'm thinking of what Hirata might be wound up in. So it's better that I'm out here. The air will probably help, in any case. I'm not going to do anything crazy - I just would rather be involved."

"I couldn't talk him out of coming with me." Enishi said guiltily. "I thought he was asleep, and I was going to sneak down to see if there was any news, but...he wasn't and he insisted on coming along."

"Better not to fight with him, not if his mind's made up." Shunsui sighed. "But listen, Juu - we've had a crazy few weeks and we both know that first thing this morning you were running a temperature. I'm not trying to say you're weak or feeble in any way, but you did get into a fight, and you have been worried about Hirata almost since then, too. A lot's happened and you don't deal that well with stress, not when it's relating to people you care about."

"True enough, but it doesn't change anything." Juushirou shrugged. "I'm sorry if I've worried anyone - but this is just a little fever for me. Most of the time I can function at this level."

He frowned.

"So there's still no news?"

"No, but Sora thinks he's probably not been hurt...because Mitsuki picked up Onoe but nothing from Hirata."

"Onoe?" Juushirou's eyes widened, and Shunsui cursed.

"Damn, I forgot you didn't know about that yet." He muttered.

"Well, now you've mentioned it, will you explain it to me?" Juushirou looked anxious. "Did I do something to him, when we fought the other night?"

"No. Nothing you did to him." Sora said pragmatically. "More what he did to himself. He took some kind of drug, Juushirou - or poison, or some such thing. In any case, Mitsuki woke up in a state this morning, and the bottom line is he's stable, but he hasn't woken up and no one really knows if he will."

"He tried to kill himself?" Juushirou was aghast, and Mitsuki nodded her head.

"Using Eimin-yaku." She said softly. "Madeki-senpai managed to pull him back and steady his reiatsu loss...but he was very weak and he might...there might not be Onoe-kun left inside of him even so."

Juushirou bit his lip, and Shunsui nodded.

"I know." He agreed. "But they've done what they can for him and there's nothing more for us in that respect. You had nothing to do with it either - he did it, most likely, before you and I even stumbled on his fight with Kai. It was something slow acting - well, Mitsuki knows more than I do about that."

"Eimin-yaku is a soporific and it consumes reiatsu." Mitsuki said softly. "It takes about twelve or fourteen hours to begin to act, and then it takes as long as the person has reiatsu to finish its job. It's usually fatal - people who do survive are often damaged beyond repair."

Enishi's expression became shadowed.

"Mm. Eimin. I've heard of it." He said gravely. "Grandfather...his twin sister..."

He faltered, then,

"During all the experimentations with chemicals, she was made very ill." He said carefully. "In the end she couldn't be saved. They tried to use Eimin to reduce the out of control spirit power and restore her sanity and health, but it took her instead. She died a day after they first made her drink it - Grandfather said that she just faded away."

"My mother also, when I was twelve." Mitsuki said softly. "Not because of experimentation or chemicals, but because of illness. She made the decision that she wasn't going to be a burden to Father and I any longer...so she took it and let it take her bit by bit till she slipped into sleep and died. Father still doesn't know that's what she did - in the Kuchiki-ke, suicide is considered dishonourable, so I never told him. He thinks it was her illness that took her and so does everyone else. But I knew. She did it because she knew I understood how much she suffered almost as much as she did...she didn't realise I'd sense every moment of her drifting away from me, too."

"Edogawa-san." Juushirou sent her a horrified look, and Shunsui pursed his lips.

"So that's why you look so out of sorts." He said quietly. "I'm sorry, Mitsuki-chan. I should've realised it was more than just worrying about Onoe."

"I _am_ worried about him." Mitsuki admitted. "But I suppose it also woke up some bad memories. Still, because I recognised it...Madeki-senpai could reach him. And maybe...some part of him will be saved. Maybe. I hope."

"And Hirata?" Enishi asked. Mitsuki shrugged.

"I haven't felt him in pain or in immediate fear of his life, so I think he's probably all right." She replied. "Unless he's left the District completely."

"Could he have done that?" Sora looked doubtful. "He's harmless enough, but hardly the kind of kid to go rogue and start wandering the wilds. If he was taken home, fair enough - but if he wasn't..."

"All we know is that he's not been found." Shunsui said with a sigh. "Even by District One's retainers."

Juushirou sank back against the trunk of the tree, closing his eyes briefly as a gentle breeze blew through the cluster of trees.

"I just wish he'd make contact." He murmured. "If he's safe, I'd like to know that he is. And he'd know that we'd worry. So that must mean he can't make contact. And that makes me worry more."

"Ukitake-kun." Mitsuki bit her lip, then she shuffled across towards him, slipping her hand into the _obi _of her _hakama_ and pulling out a small vial.

"I was going to give this to Kyouraku-kun to give to you, because I knew your fever was up again and that you were hurting." She said softly, embarrassment in her gaze as she studiously avoided Shunsui's eyes. "But since you're here, I'll give it to you now. It's only herbs, like before - but I think it will at least help bring your temperature back down. You're probably restless because of that as much as anything else."

"There's our budding healer for you." Shunsui said lazily, smiling despite himself at Mitsuki's tentative suggestion, and Juushirou shot her a rueful smile.

"I get the feeling that even if I wanted to tell you I was fine, you'd be the one person who I couldn't convince." He reflected. "I'm sorry that I'm making you worry most of all, Edogawa-san. I don't want to be the cause of your nightmares a second time."

"At least you have the grace to apologise to her." Sora snorted, shaking her head. "Shunsui's the cause of plenty of nightmares for me, but I've never once heard him apologise for them."

"You dream about me?" Shunsui sent her a teasing look. "Do tell."

"Not like that, so don't even think about it." Sora warned him. "Just every time you do something crazy, I wonder how mad Okaasama will be with me when she comes to finding out!"

"Nii-sama was happy enough." Shunsui shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Sora-chan. I'm a model student now, after all."

"Like hell you are." Sora sighed. "But I guess you could be worse."

"Is Kuchiki-kun still in the library?" Juushirou asked, and Shunsui nodded.

"Seems that way." He agreed. "I don't know. I realise he's still on basic socialising skills, but even so, I thought he was concerned about Hirata being missing. And now you're flagging, Juu - I'm a bit disappointed in him letting the Shihouin rivalry get in the way of worrying about his friends."

"Who's letting the Shihouin get in the way of anything?"

Ryuu's voice prevented anyone else from responding, and Shunsui winced, turning to see Ryuu pacing across the grass towards them. There was a big old book under his arm, and an annoyed expression on his young face as he joined the group under the tree.

"You have ears like a lynx. I can't believe you heard that...no, more, I can't believe I didn't see you before I said that."

"You must be slipping." Ryuu said acidly. "Perhaps I will outplace you in the next examinations after all. Besides, you are mistaken. As if I would allow the Shihouin to trouble me more than for a brief moment."

"This morning you did say you were trying to get away from all the Shihouin talk, though." Juushirou eyed him doubtfully. "Was that not the case, Kuchiki-kun?"

"That was for your benefit, because I knew if I said what I was really going to do, you would want to play a part in it and you are in no fit health to do so." Ryuu fixed him with a pointed gaze. "You should be in bed resting. Isn't that what you were told to do? Even from here I can see your eyes are barely more than shadows."

"The fever made him restless, apparently." Enishi said with a sigh. "And I couldn't make him stay put."

"I suppose I'm not surprised." Ryuu pursed his lips. "But even so, you are foolish with your body, Ukitake. You only have one...you should treat it more carefully."

"What's the book about, Ryuu-kun?" Mitsuki looked curious, and Ryuu smiled, patting the cover almost smugly and sending a faint cloud of dust into the surrounding atmosphere.

"For someone who claims to be concerned about Juu's body, Kuchiki, you could waft your ancient dust someplace else." Shunsui objected, waving his hand in front of his face as he stifled the urge to cough. "You do realise, after all, that his lungs are the bit that's most wonky out of all his dodgy parts?"

"I don't think I like the way you said that." Juushirou objected. "I'm not wonky or dodgy. And I'm far enough away to not get the dust. Besides, I have Edogawa-san's remedy...I'll be fine."

"In that case, try drinking it. Staring at it probably won't do you much good." Sora said firmly, and Juushirou held up his hands in mock-surrender.

"I was about to." He protested. "Are you all going to fuss over me or are you going to listen to Kuchiki-kun? He's come here for a reason - let's find out what it is. I'm only a little feverish - I'm not about to have a coughing fit and I'm not so bad while I'm sitting down. Stop staring at me and pay attention to him instead. You have something important to say after all, don't you, Kuchiki-kun?"

"Yes."

Ryuu nodded his head, looking somewhat mollified as he opened the book, flicking through the pages and pausing on one. "I went looking for this. We have a volume in the library at home - albeit a newer edition, and the plates are not as faded and worn as in this one. However, even though some of the text is hard to make out, the bit I was seeking seems to be intact. The kanji is quite complicated in places, but I am able to read it and I imagine most people with a decent Noble education could."

He shot Enishi a doubtful look at this juncture, then,

"Ukitake, you have a high level of Kanji understanding, and you read a lot. You also would probably be able to follow it quite easily."

"But what is it, exactly?" Sora demanded. "It's a nice big book, Ryuu-kun - but what has it to do with Hirata's disappearance or anything else?"

Ryuu smiled triumphantly.

"This." He said, patting his finger down on the right hand page. "_Bakudou no Gojuu Hachi. Kakushitsuijaku_."

"Kidou?" Juushirou's eyes widened, and Ryuu nodded.

"It's a tracing spell. It allows you to track down specific reiatsu." He said proudly. "I've seen my Uncle cast it a couple of times. It seems quite straight forward to me. You draw a circle and cast specific characters into that circle, dividing it into four parts. You voice the incantation, and it tracks down the reiatsu of whoever you might be seeking. In our case..."

"Hirata." Enishi breathed.

"But could _we_ do it?" Sora looked doubtful. "We've barely got to grips with _shakka-hou_ and_ soukatsui_…this is higher level Kidou for sure. Isn't it?"

"Probably." Ryuu agreed. "But even so, I don't think it's beyond our capabilities."

He cast Shunsui a glance, then,

"Kyouraku could certainly do it." He added, and Shunsui's eyes widened in surprise.

"Me?" He demanded. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you're top of the class, most probably." Enishi reflected, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Not in Kidou. Juu's higher than me there." He responded evenly, and Ryuu pulled a face.

"And do you really think that I would ask Ukitake to cast a spell like this, considering his current health?" He demanded. "Be sensible. Besides, you do not have less skill than he does. Without belittling his own talents, he would be the first to admit that the reason he's top is because you're lazy. In terms of your control and your ability you are the obvious person to think of."

"But then Shunsui might get into trouble." Juushirou coughed slightly, pulling himself into a more upright position as he peered across at the book. "Sensei told him after the night we were out in the forest that one more slip and that'd be it. He's on his last chance – using dangerous level Kidou wouldn't be something he'd just ignore, surely?"

"I don't mind, particularly." Shunsui reflected, but Juushirou shook his head.

"It's too risky." He said firmly.

"But you want to find Hirata, don't you?" Ryuu looked startled, and Juushirou nodded.

"I do." He agreed, biting his lip, then, "But I don't want to risk losing anyone else. It's already strange enough…if Shunsui was kicked out, it'd be even stranger. And it might not even work. It might not find Hirata. And it might all be for nothing after all."

"You're not going to get emotional and silly on us now, are you?" Shunsui eyed him warily. "I know you when your fever's on the rise and you say stupid things. Pipe down a moment and be rational, will you? I've told you before. Other people's lives are more important than whether or not I'm sleeping in District One or District Eight."

"It is a complicated spell, though. And the kanji's re-e-e-ally old." Sora shuffled across to read it. "Kuchiki, are you sure that Shunsui could do something like that? He might have talent but he's also a flake. It might blow up in his face."

Ryuu shook his head.

"I heard Minabe and Kazoe talking on my way to the library." He said pragmatically. "And I heard them mention Kyouraku by name. Minabe seemed to be holding forth about something Sensei had said to Tokutarou-sama – something about Kyouraku being able enough to be skipped straight into third year come the end of the year and bypass second year altogether. It was that which got me thinking about it more closely. If that's true, then there's no reason why he shouldn't be able to cast this spell. After all, in the forest, you did _shakka-hou _with no prior training, didn't you?"

He turned to Shunsui, who nodded, his expression aghast.

"Please tell me you misheard that." He said emphatically. "I do not want to be skipping anywhere, thank you very much!"

"It's all right. I don't think it's going to happen." Ryuu said acerbically. "Minabe was complaining about your laziness and saying that she'd allow you to be promoted like that over her dead body."

"Thank God for that." Shunsui let out his breath in a rush. "I only hope he hasn't given Nii-sama ideas, saying crazy stuff like that. Let me see the book, Ryuu-kun. I can't say what I can and can't do until I see the spell for myself."

"Shunsui!" Juushirou frowned, and Shunsui sighed.

"Do you see another option?" He demanded. "Kuchiki's idea is a good one. It might not work, but it's the best idea any of us have had and it's better than doing nothing. We can but try it – right? If we screw up then we screw up – but if Hirata's in danger…"

"I don't think Hirata is in danger." Mitsuki murmured. "And you're upsetting Ukitake-kun, Kyouraku-kun."

"That's because he doesn't think straight when he's fevered, and he does and says silly, rash things." Shunsui said frankly. "He knows it as well as I do…that if this is the only way to get around it, it's what we should do."

Juushirou's lips thinned, then he sighed.

"I don't like it." He murmured. "But I understand what you're saying, too. Hirata's life is important. It's important to me, too. I just…I suppose I am overreacting. We've stretched Sensei's patience a lot lately – maybe I'm worried about…about…th…th…that."

The end of his sentence dissolved into a fit of coughing, and Shunsui sighed, shaking his head.

"I told you the dust was a bad idea, Ryuu-kun." He said softly. "Even if it's just a tiniest fragment, Juu's chest is sensitive enough to pick it up."

"It's not Ryuu-kun's fault. It's_ you_, making him worry." Mitsuki said reproachfully, and at the look in her eyes, Shunsui held up his hands in mock surrender.

"If looks could kill, Mitsuki-chan, I'd be flat out by now." He said lightly. "Juu-kun, take a breath for a moment and calm down. If you're feeling that rough, someone should take you inside."

"No. I'm all…all right." Juushirou shook his head, warding off his friend's supportive hand. "I'm fine. Really."

His eyes narrowed.

"And I want to help Hirata too. Let me. Please."

"You want to do a spell in that condition?" Enishi demanded, and Juushirou nodded.

"Hirata is m…m…my friend." He murmured. "And it should b…b…be me."

"Hirata is _everyone's_ friend." Shunsui corrected him softly. "He was your friend first, maybe. But we're all worried about him and we all want the little tyke back. Take a moment and sit back, Juu. Enishi's right. You're not in any state to cast _shakka-hou_, let alone something this complicated. We've not even begun covering _Bakudou _yet."

"But if…_I_ do it…you won't…be in trouble." Juushirou pointed out, and Shunsui snorted.

"You think Sensei would let me off if I sat back and let you do it when you can hardly breathe?" He demanded. "Get real."

Ryuu frowned.

"Then _I_ shall do it." He said firmly, startling everyone by his sudden announcement. "If it is upsetting Ukitake that much that Kyouraku might be in trouble, and if he is unable to do it, that leaves me. I am third rank in Kidou, after all. And I don't believe my own reiatsu to be particularly inferior in this respect."

"Kuchiki..." Sora gazed at him in surprise, then she grinned. "Well, then that settles that, doesn't it? No one in their right mind would kick a Kuchiki out of the Academy, and Ryuu-sama doesn't have the track record either of you two do for getting into silly situations."

"Are you sure?" Shunsui eyed Ryuu quizzically, and Ryuu nodded.

"I think that if you were to do it, our chance of accuracy would be better." He admitted, surprising Shunsui with his honest appraisal. "Even if you don't often use the power you have, I am aware of that much at least. But I do not think it beyond my capabilities to at least cast the spell. Whether it finds him in the end...I don't know."

"If he's back in District Seven, it might be too far to reach." Enishi pointed out, and Ryuu nodded.

"It might." He agreed. "And there may be other barriers and spells inbetween. But nonetheless I shall try."

"Other spells? Why would there be other spells?" Sora frowned, and Ryuu offered her a thin smile.

"You aren't as naive as that." he observed. "People cover their tracks with spells all the time. If Hirata had help leaving the school, they might not intend him to be followed."

"Or something else." Shunsui said quietly. "Hirata didn't intend to be followed."

"Shihouin-kun said him not coming back might...might mean that." Juushirou said reluctantly. "I can't say what else he t...told me. It's not...something I can d...discuss. But...that Hirata might have b...been forced to choose. And...he m...might have chosen not to c...come back. If he's not h...hurt, he m...might be hiding scared somewhere and...and unsure what to do."

"Or he might be concealing himself with Kidou and acting on whatever decision he made." Ryuu said evenly.

"How would he do that, Kuchiki?" Sora pulled a face. "We've not done Bakudou yet, like Shunsui said. We won't start even the basics till next semester. And all barrier spells are Bakudou, right?"

Ryuu's eyes narrowed, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Hirata is exceptionally good at hiding if he doesn't want to be found. Better than Kyouraku is." He responded astutely. "And to begin with, we hardly noticed him out of class hours. I have come to wonder, recently, with the lack of success in finding him...perhaps this wasn't because he was hiding, after all."

"The first time Ukitake and I noticed him in the dorm was really because he was crying and we heard him. Till then we hadn't seen him at all." Enishi frowned. "But..."

"That's true." Juushirou nodded, surprise flickering across his gaze. "And he does have exceptionally tight control over his reiatsu - I remember Aitori-sensei and Kazoe-sensei have both complimented him on his ability to make it appear as though it's next to nothing even when preparing an attack. But...are you saying that...Hirata might...be able to..."

"Hide himself with Kidou?" Ryuu shrugged. "Why not? It seems a wise survival skill for one such as him to have picked up growing up in the kind of family he has. He is not like the rest of the Endou-ke, after all. It wouldn't surprise me at all. He's survived for a reason, and that may well be it."

"Is there a spell that could do that?" Mitsuki asked softly, and Ryuu nodded.

"I looked that up too." He agreed. "This book is full of various Bakudou spells and there are ones which can make someone appear invisible. I don't know that that's what he's done...but given his reiatsu control abilities, it might explain how he could disappear...and not even Genryuusai-sensei's retainers could find him."

"He could even be here, under our noses." Enishi whispered, and Ryuu shook his head.

"Genryuusai-sensei would soon see through that." He said frankly. "No. Hirata isn't here. Wherever he is, he's either in trouble or keeping his head down and out of it."

"Either way, we need to know which of those it is." Shunsui replied gravely, meeting Juushirou's gaze for a brief moment. "Let's move somewhere more secluded and see what we can do with this spell of yours, Ryuu-kun. If it even gives us a faint clue...that will be something to go on at least. And it might tell us the most important thing - if he's still alive."

"We could take it up to the Dorm." Enishi suggested, and Sora snorted, shaking her head.

"That's not fair. Mitsuki and I are part of this too - if you do that you'll be shutting us out." She objected.

"Maybe that's for the best, though." Ryuu eyed Mitsuki for a moment, then, "Your Father would not understand if he thought you were breaking rules, Mitsuki."

Mitsuki sighed.

"No. Maybe not." She murmured. "And I really don't think Hirata is hurt. But if Sora's involved, and Ukitake-kun and you are, I want to be too. I don't want to be left out."

"Then that's settled. We're not going to the boy's dorm." Sora said pragmatically. "We'll just have to find some other way to do it instead."

"Where else is there? Deeper into the forest?" Enishi glanced around him, and Ryuu shrugged.

"Possibly, although the closer we go to the boundary, the more suspicions we're likely to arouse." He reflected.

"The Dorm would really be better." Shunsui bit his lip. "Even if it did mean you girls were cut out of it."

His gaze flitted to Juushirou, who frowned.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm fine." He snapped, reaching across to take the book from Ryuu's unprepared grip. "It's like Sora says. If we're going to try this, we're all involved. Even if Kuchiki-kun is going to cast the spell, the rest of us can h...help him r...read it and work out th...the best w...w...w...way..."

Before he could finish his sentence, however, he choked, the book slipping through his fingers and falling to the grass as his hands went automatically to his chest. Pain crossed his expression, and the spell forgotten in an instant, Shunsui was immediately alert, hurrying to support his friend as he stumbled.

"Juu! Dammit, that's it. We're going inside, whether you like it or not."

"But..." Juushirou protested hoarsely, and Shunsui shook his head.

"We'll leave the spell till tomorrow." He said quietly. "We'll go back to the Dorm now, and you can rest - which you should already be doing. We'll take the book and talk it over and work out the best way to do it. Then tomorrow we'll meet down here again after breakfast and we'll see if we can find Hirata. All right?"

"But what...what if..."

"Mitsuki says he's not hurt. I believe her." Shunsui said frankly. "Whereas you are, and I'm not having that. Yell at me when you're better. Hate me and fume silently - I'm all right with that. But I'm not going to have you pushing yourself to your limits when its not necessary."

"Shunsui!" Juushirou began to protest, but Ryuu reached for the book, tucking it once more under his arm.

"As Kyouraku said." He added quietly. "Mitsuki's senses are sharp. She's a Kuchiki, after all. I trust her judgement, too. But Hirata would not forgive us or himself if we let you get sicker because of him. So we'll go inside."

His eyes became steely.

"And you _will_ sleep, this time, else tomorrow we will conduct the search without you." He said bluntly.

Juushirou's eyes widened in surprise, and despite himself Shunsui grinned.

"You heard him." He said approvingly, relief in his dark eyes. "Thank you, Ryuu-kun. I appreciate your support."

"It's common sense." Ryuu said archly. "In any case, preparation will take time whatever we do. So tomorrow, then? I will study this carefully and by tomorrow I will know it well enough to cast it as accurately as I can."

"Then we'll all meet here tomorrow morning." Sora got to her feet, holding her hand out to pull Mitsuki up with her. "And see whether or not we can do what Sensei's retainers haven't managed to do. Find Hirata."


	34. Cold Truth

**Chapter Thirty Three: Cold Truth **

So it was true, after all.

Kai leant up against the wall of the school building, closing his eyes against the pain and dizziness as he struggled to come to terms with what he had seen. Deep down inside he knew that it was far too soon for him to be running around campus, yet only that morning he had heard Retsu's assistants talking and at the sound of his cousin's name he had frozen, shamelessly eavesdropping as he sought to hear what the Healing Bay staff said.

What he had heard had sent a chill right through him, and though he had pretended to be asleep when an attendant had checked in on him, truthfully he had already been planning how to escape from the Bay undetected.

He was angry at Tomoyuki. Perhaps he hated him. He would probably not ever forgive him. But even so, he was shocked by the lengths to which the other boy had gone. And no matter what his personal feelings, he had needed to see it for himself. He had needed to use his Shihouin stealth and wits…and he had needed to see his cousin's pale, still form to confirm it to his disbelieving senses.

Getting out of the Healing Bay had been easy, for without Retsu there and with only him to look after, their attention had been somewhat lax. He had given them no reason to think he was fit enough to rise, after all – let alone in good enough health to use the window as an escape point or scale the sheer wall to the ground below without passing out. If he was honest to himself, he probably wasn't well enough. The pain and uncharacteristic weakness of his body had caused blackness to swerve in to his vision more than once during the descent, but he had gritted his teeth, resolutely clinging on until he had reached the grass below.

Infiltrating the isolation wing was far more difficult, since Kai was smart enough to know that the seniors would be on duty and slipping past them would be harder than past un-attentive healing staff bent on other errands. Yet he had drawn close enough to the outside to ascertain what he had wanted to know. And, by pulling himself up by his arms he had managed to peek in for the briefest of moments, seeing across the exercise yard through the door left open to air the room and into the chamber beyond.

So that was it then, was it? The ultimate Shihouin sacrifice. The honour and duty that his people were trained for – the dedication to act and die regardless of the consequences.

"_I don't believe in letting people who can be saved die. Because if they're dead, they can't ever make amends or change things or move forward. There's no glory in dying. Just a lot of mess and red tape."_

Shunsui's words suddenly echoed across his senses and he sighed, sinking down onto the ground as his legs shook and buckled beneath him. Leaning back against the cool stone as he caught his breath and fought the queasy, dizzy waves, he processed his classmate's remarks more carefully, analysing them closely for the first time.

"If you're dead, you can't change anything." He murmured, gazing up at the sky. "Generations of Shihouin have died for their honour. No one has ever questioned it. But who ever achieved anything by dying?"

He frowned, pursing his lips as he forced himself to face this unpleasant truth.

_Death caused the civil rift between two sides of our family, and the more people who died, the more vengeance oaths were sworn. Blood on blood with no sign of ending until Kamuki-jisama took control. And now he…his children died, and so he forced Father into following this path – a path which might yet kill more people. Father. Niisama. Maybe even Midori-nee and I too, in the end._

His eyes narrowed.

_Aitori. Megumi. And now, maybe Tomoyuki too. _

He buried his head in his hands, suddenly exhausted by the weight of his emotions and the crazy scramble he had made across campus.

_Kyouraku is right. The people who make changes are the ones who live, not the ones who die. Midori-neesama has gone to District Two to save our Clan. She's gone there to save people, not to kill them out of hand. If she hadn't, what would come next? Destruction and slaughter, most likely. This is the darkness in the Shihouin-ke after all, isn't it? This desperate clinging to sacrificial death instead of honourable living._

Tomoyuki's reiatsu was all but gone now. In the past, knowing his cousin's strengths and weaknesses as well as he did, he would have been able to feel the boy's presence from across the school grounds. But now it was little more than the barest flicker – the tiny sign that the boy lived, even if that was all.

_This isn't life, though. This is limbo. This is reckless, foolish abandonment of your existence, without thinking of the grief it will cause and the problems it will create back home. Your mother will cry, Tomoyuki. Is that what you wanted? To see her robed and veiled in black and crying for her lost son so soon after the fall of her disgraced brother?_

He frowned, tears pricking at his own eyes as he remembered the solemn procession of burial during which he had said his final goodbyes to his own strong-willed, beloved mother.

_You stupid fool. When you have so much, you'll so easily throw it away. Although I know only too well that it's a path I might also have walked, had Midori-nee not become involved. Had…had I not spoken to Kyouraku. Had he and Ukitake not come to my rescue. Had a lot of things happened differently to how they did._

"What are you doing here, Shihouin Kai-kun?"

A soft voice jerked through his thoughts and he raised his head in surprise and consternation, gazing up at the concerned face of the gentle head of District Four.

"Unohana-sensei!" he gasped, and Retsu smiled, nodding her head as she reached down a hand to pull him carefully to his feet.

"I'm sure I left the instruction that you weren't to try and get up yet." She said softly. "I'm surprised to return to District One and find you here, of all places."

"I…" Kai reddened, dropping his gaze, and Retsu frowned.

"You wanted to know about your cousin." She said quietly, a note of gravity in her tones. "He lives, after all…I can feel that much. What else…I don't know. That he's still living by the time the message reached me and by the time I returned…that in itself is almost a miracle. Whether any further miracles can or will be performed is out of our hands. I am not able to cure the damage done to him."

"You came back to see him? You were sent for?" Kai stared, and Retsu nodded.

"I did, and I came as soon as I knew, but now I'm here, it's clear to me that there's little I can do." She said sadly. "The boy is sleeping. That sleep may be an eternal one, or he may rise at some point in the future. He is stable now – there is no emergency. But even had I been here…there would have been nothing more for me to do that has not already been done by others."

"Eimin-yaku." Kai murmured, and Retsu sighed.

"You know that name far too easily for my liking." She said, a faint chiding note in her tones. "One as young and untrained as you shouldn't know of such herbal compounds in any circumstances – yet it seems the Shihouin-ke not only know of them, but use them."

Kai's brows knitted together, then,

"I have it too." He admitted slowly. "In my…in the dorm. Locked away with my personal effects. We all…carry it. When we're sent…on specific missions. In case…we need to use it."

Retsu stared at him for a moment, aghast at his bald confession. Then she sighed, shaking her head as she slipped an arm around his shoulders, carefully supporting his shaking body.

"Your choice is the right one, Shihouin-kun." She said gently. "To tell me that means you have no intention of using it, and perhaps your cousin's predicament has taught you more than my words can. You are doubting your Clan at the moment, aren't you? Their ethics and standards and traditions – you doubt them fiercely and I can see it in your eyes."

"Mm. I…yes." Kai gazed at his hands. "I never have before, but right now I'm doubting them a lot. I'm angry, Unohana-sensei. And confused. And frightened for the future. For what might happen to my family."

He raised his golden eyes to hers, tears glittering on his lashes.

"Not because I'm worrying about Shihouin pride." He whispered. "But because I remember burying Mother. And I don't want to see Father and Nii-sama taken from me too, because of Uncle's foolishness and Aitori's betrayal!"

"And your cousin's attempt at ritual suicide has sparked such thoughts inside you." Retsu's tones became soothing and sympathetic, and gently she hugged him, her grasp somewhat comforting to the wrenched and wounded youngster. "You are too young to bear so many burdens. But I can tell you this small thing which may be of some comfort. My Clan have agreed to support your sister's claim to the Shihouin-ke. And my family will not seek death against your relatives. We do not believe in such punishments – and the impact they have on young ones such as you."

She smiled, holding him at arm's length as though he was a much younger boy, and he stared at her numbly, knowing that if he dared try and speak, he might lose his grip on his tears and shame himself completely. She gave him a moment, allowing him to regain his self control, and then she nodded her head decidedly.

"You should be resting." She said softly. "Genryuusai-sama has been lenient so far regarding your actions, but you should not try his patience any further."

Kai nodded his head.

"I know." He admitted, then, "But…I wondered…"

He faltered, then,

"You're going to move Tomoyuki to the Healing Bay now you're back, aren't you? And…I…if…"

"I am." Retsu agreed. "And you don't want to be there, if he is? In this state, it's too hard for you to see – is that it?"

Kai nodded.

"Y…yes."

"Then what should I do with you? You're still far too weak to be running loose around the school."

"I…" Kai faltered, then he made up his mind. "I'd like to go back to the dorm, please. I…I promise to stay there, if…if you don't think I should get up. I'll rest and I won't break any more rules or slip out of any more places, I promise. I'll do exactly as you tell me, right up to the letter. But…I…in the Healing Bay I…I'm on my own. And I…at the moment…I don't want to be."

Retsu eyed him in surprise, then her eyes softened.

"Genryuusai-sama would be heartened indeed to hear you say that." She murmured. "To hear that you have enough bonds with your classmates to seek their comfort in a difficult time."

"I…" Kai reddened, suddenly embarrassed, and Retsu patted him gently on the head.

"I will not argue with your request." She continued softly. "You may return to your dormitory, and rest there. It is, after all, simply rest that you need. Your wound is healing and your life force strong – it is only time and sleep that can heal you now. And, perhaps, the support of your classmates and friends, too. But you must keep your word. You must not slip out any more without my express permission to get up – do you understand? I will honour your request, but you must not betray that trust."

Kai eyed her solemnly for a moment, then he nodded his head.

"I swear." He said quietly. "As a Shihouin, I give my word. Whatever that means now – I won't break my promise."

"Can you walk by yourself, do you think? I'll take you to the door, as I hope you will let me take from you the Eimin-yaku now you've seen its work. If it hurts too much, I can use shunpo…?"

"I can walk." Kai said resolutely. "But…will you tell Sensei? About…that I have…what I told you?"

"If I take it, you will not have it." Retsu's eyes twinkled. "And then he will have nothing to know, will he?"

"I suppose not." Kai paused, then, "Thank you, Unohana-sensei. I…I'm grateful."

Retsu eyed him for a moment, and Kai knew that she understood his thanks were for more than the promise she had just made. She smiled.

"Then do your best to be a good and faithful student to your lessons here, and be of benefit to Soul Society." She said lightly. "A Shihouin does not have to be an assassin or cloak himself in darkness, after all. You are as much a part of making your Clan's future and outlook as anyone else. You have a voice – if you have an opinion, speak up and let it be counted."

"After all, I'm still alive to do that." Kai murmured, and Retsu nodded.

"Yes. Indeed you are."

"Unohana-sensei, do you know…when you were coming here, did you hear anything…about…about Hirata?"

"Endou Hirata-kun?" Retsu frowned, shaking her head. "I did not. Should I have done?"

"No. I suppose not." Kai sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just…right now no one knows where he is. And…I guess I'm a little worried. That's all."

"No doubt if that's the case Genryuusai-sama already has a contingency plan in place." Retsu murmured, and Kai nodded.

"I guess so." He acknowledged. "I was just thinking…based on all of this…that it would be a shame if something happened to him. Because I think…he's not like the rest of his Clan. And he might…have opinions…that should be voiced too."

"Then let him voice them." Retsu advised. "For the time being, you should focus most on recovering your own strength and resolving your own family's problems. All right?"

Kai did not answer, as his vision blurred slightly and he set his teeth, determined to make it all the way to the dormitory without help. Retsu glanced at him occasionally, but she seemed to understand his resolve, and inwardly he was grateful for her kindness and comprehension.

_The Shihouin-ke often underestimates the Clan of Healers, but I never will again, that's for sure._

At that moment they reached the dorm itself, and Retsu paused, reaching up to knock on the wood panelling.

"Unohana-sensei!"

The door slid back, Shunsui staring at her in confusion and surprise, and at his reaction, Retsu smiled.

"I did not like to barge in on you all unannounced, but I've brought back something that belongs with you." She said evenly, indicating Kai who flushed awkwardly at the sudden attention.

"Kai-kun?" Shunsui looked even more startled, then he grinned. "Are you sure he's all right, Unohana-sensei? He's gone a funny colour – don't you want to keep him a while longer?"

"It seems Shihouin-kun would rather convalesce with friends than alone in the Healing Bay, and as it is I will have my hands full now I have returned to District One." Retsu said lightly. "May I come in, or are you and your companions in the middle of changing for bed?"

"We're all right. You can come in with pleasure." Shunsui's eyes twinkled and he stepped back, gesturing for them both to enter. "I thought maybe you came to glare at Juu for being irresponsible – I didn't realise Kai was well enough to come back."

"Shihouin!" Enishi's eyes widened at their entrance. "And…Unohana-sensei, why are you…"

"Ukitake-kun doesn't need me to tell him that when he pushes his physical health too far, his body protests." Retsu's gaze rested briefly on Juushirou for a moment, and Kai saw his pale-faced classmate colour scarlet from ear to ear at the glance. "As for Shihouin-kun, which is his bunk? He is not well enough to be rowdy with you all yet – but I have consented to let him rest here, since there is little that time and rest will not do to heal him now."

"Mine is over here, Unohana-sensei." Kai said soberly, padding across the room and sitting down on his empty bunk. He hesitated, then slipped his fingers down the inside of the wood finish until he found the small fabric-padded bundle. He bit his lip, pulling it into view and holding it out.

"This is what you wanted me to give you." He added apprehensively. "There is no more. I give my word."

"Then I will take this and deal with it." Retsu smiled, taking it and sliding it into the folds of her own _obi_. "Thank you, Shihouin-kun. Boys, I'm sorry to have disturbed you. Good night."

With that she was gone, and an awkward silence fell over the room as Kai pulled his blankets more firmly around his shoulders.

"You _wanted_ to come back to us?" Shunsui was the first to break it, eying his classmate keenly, and Kai nodded.

"Tomoyuki is being moved to the Healing Bay. I don't want to be there when he is." He said quietly, and Ryuu snorted.

"You Shihouin develop rivalries over everything." He muttered. "The boy may be dying…"

"That's why." Kai cut across him. "I don't need to see him, Kuchiki. I don't need it at all."

"What did you just give Unohana-sensei?" Ukitake asked quietly, his voice somewhat hoarse and husky but his eyes bright with curiosity. "If you don't mind my asking – was it something important?"

"Mm." Kai hesitated, then, "It was Eimin-yaku. The same poison that…"

"That Mitsuki-chan said Onoe took." Shunsui's eyes became grave. "So you had it too, then? All the time?"

"Yes." Kai admitted. "But I never thought about using it or what it meant. Now I've seen…I don't want it. So I decided to give it to Unohana-sensei to destroy."

He sighed, sinking back against the wall, then,

"Is there any news on Hirata?"

"Are you actually worried about him, or just looking for gossip?" Ryuu demanded, and Kai frowned.

"I'm worried." He said frankly. "I've more reason to be than you, because I know more than you. No one's heard anything? Nothing at all?"

"No." Enishi shook his head. "But we…Kuchiki really…had an idea to try and help find him."

"Houjou!" Ryuu's eyes became wide with dismay and anger. "That's no business of his! Shihouin is nothing to do with any of that!"

"No. Shihouin-kun should know too." Juushirou shook his head. "After all, he's w…w…worried about H…Hirata as…as well."

"If you start coughing again I'm going to run after Unohana-sensei…shunpo after her, if I have to…and make her come take you away." Shunsui threatened. "Stop it. You're meant to rest."

"_Is_ Ukitake sick too?" Kai looked startled, and Shunsui snorted.

"He has bruises all across his ribs." He said flatly. "Which he'd conveniently hidden and not mentioned to anyone until we made him change into fresh sleeping robes and saw them for ourselves. Souvenirs of his fight with Onoe, by the looks – probably anyone else would just be sore, but with his chest the way it is…no wonder he's been feverish and not sleeping. It must hurt like hell."

"I'm all right. I'm m…more worried about H…Hirata." Juushirou said obstinately. "And where he is."

"So are we all." Enishi reminded him. "But Edogawa said that she didn't think he was hurt. And she knew you were ill, even more than we realised."

"I'm _not_ ill." Juushirou said, and Kai was surprised at the faintly sullen note in his classmate's voice. "They're _only bruises_."

"That's a foolish thing to say, considering the opposite is plainly true." Ryuu said matter of factly. "You are feverish and talking nonsense. Kyouraku, you were right. He loses what little sense of reason he has when he has a temperature."

"Will you stop talking about me as though I'm not in the room?" Juushirou was clearly frustrated, and Shunsui chuckled.

"The more you protest, the more we'll fuss over you, because the more out of character you'll be." He advised. "Just sit back and take it like a man, all right? We're all just showing our concern. And you should have told us sooner that the fight had bruised you that badly. What he did to you I don't know – but your chest is your Achilles heel, so to speak."

"A funny looking person I'd be if my chest was on my heel." Juushirou muttered facetiously, and Kai bit his lip.

"Bruises…from your fight with Tomoyuki?" He asked softly, and Juushirou nodded.

"He pinioned me across my chest, and he's heavy." He admitted reluctantly. "I didn't realise it would leave such a mark, but…it did."

Kai eyed him for a moment, then he sighed, bowing his head slightly in his companion's direction.

"On behalf of the Shihouin-ke, I apologise for Tomoyuki's conduct." He said soberly. "Towards you on any occasion, but particularly that night."

"Shihouin-kun?!" Juushirou stared at him for a moment, the wind taken from his sails completely by this, and Kai looked rueful.

"An apology was owed." He said simply. "For injuries sustained in helping to save my life and to prevent his stupidity from going further. You said earlier that I didn't have to acknowledge you because Midori-nee had – but I intend to anyway. Tomoyuki is a Shihouin and he's shown the worst side of the Clan in his actions of late. Seeing him…seeing what he'd done to himself as well…made me realise it. What Kyouraku said about dead people being powerless is true. And also, about living ones being able to change things. So I guess I'm changing things. Midori-nee acknowledged you and so will I. But not because it's her will. Because it's mine."

Despite himself, a smile touched Juushirou's lips, and he pushed back his blankets, getting to his feet and padding tentatively across to grasp Kai's extended fingers in his.

"Then I accept your apology and we'll move on." He said, shaking the other boy's hand firmly, and as he did so, Kai was aware of the hot dryness of his classmate's skin. "Thank you, Shihouin-kun. I appreciate your sentiments – and I accept them wholeheartedly."

"This is all very touching." Ryuu said acerbically. "If a little nauseating. But you really need to be more discerning about who you befriend, Ukitake. You're like an eager mongrel puppy looking for scraps."

"I don't think it's a bad thing, if Shihouin wants to call time." Enishi reflected. "And if he's worried about Hirata, someone should fill him in on what we've been discussing, too."

"Houjou." Ryuu shot him a dark look. "Do you think that's really wise? Considering what we know about recent Shihouin activity? For all we know Kai is still some kind of spy or agent working in the shadows. His gesture proves nothing. The Shihouin speak in tongues."

"I think he was sincere." Juushirou sank back down onto his bunk. "And I know his concern for Hirata is genuine because we talked about it this morning. I think he should be told too. He's part of Class One, after all."

"Ukitake…" Ryuu sighed heavily.

"Ryuu found an old book in the library." Shunsui settled himself on his bed, loosening the tie of his _obi_ as he did so. "We've all been studying it up here for the past hour or two, and we've about got to grips with what we're going to do."

"Kyouraku? You too?" Ryuu was aghast, and Shunsui nodded.

"Kai chose to come back here tonight. He wants to be involved." He said simply. "And I don't believe in grudges or rivalries, Kuchiki. So I'm happy to tell him about what you found. You should be proud, in any case. It's a smart idea."

"I'm listening." Kai shivered slightly, pulling his blankets tighter as he tried to make himself comfortable. "Whatever it is, I can't do anything about anyway. I'm not allowed to leave here without permission – I just didn't want to sleep in the Healing Bay any more. But if it's to help Hirata…I owe the tyke something. And that being the case…"

"Kuchiki found a spell. A Kidou spell. Something to do with sparrows." Enishi said earnestly, and Ryuu groaned, burying his head in his hands.

"Fine." He said bitterly, his voice somewhat muffled. "Lets all tell Shihouin everything. No, even better. Let's _show _him."

He tossed back the covers of his bed, and Kai's eyes widened as he saw the old book that had been hidden there.

"When Unohana-sensei knocked on the door, it was the quickest place to hide it." Shunsui explained casually. "It's not that we're not allowed books from the library, but Ryuu-kun only got to take that one because Nagoya-senpai was supervising the desk and he doesn't question his own kin."

"It's a book of spells. Bakudou spells." Juushirou added. "And there's one that apparently helps to track people – by looking for their reiatsu."

Kai's eyes narrowed.

"_Kakushitsuijaku._" He murmured, and Shunsui nodded.

"You know it?"

"Somewhat." Kai agreed. "_I've_ never cast it, but I've seen it used quite a lot back home."

"Is it accurate?" Enishi asked, and Kai shrugged.

"I guess that depends on who's doing it." He responded evenly. "None of us have learnt any Bakudou yet, so God knows."

He glanced at Juushirou.

"So you decided not to take my advice? Somehow I'm not surprised."

"I can't just sit back and ignore it." Juushirou shook his head. "Even if it's dangerous. That's how it is. Hirata might have things to prove for himself, and I don't want to override that. But he might be in trouble. So I don't want to abandon him either."

"Kuchiki's going to do the spell, since Juu doesn't want me to and he's too sick to do it himself." Shunsui added. "We've spent time reading over it and discussing it so as we do it right – because we don't want to get into trouble unless we're going to find something out."

Kai smiled wryly.

"Who'd have thought that so many people would worry so hard over such a quiet kid." He reflected. "Is that your doing too, Ukitake?"

"It's odd without him here. You notice it." Enishi said ruefully. "It's not just Ukitake. We all feel that way."

Kai glanced at his hands.

"Hirata himself would probably be the best one at casting this kind of spell." He said softly. "After all, he's the only one of us who can use Bakudou already."

"You think so too?" Enishi stared at him, and Kai shrugged.

"He never said so to me." He responded. "But my people live in shadows. Concealment arts are a big part of what our Clan do. He's used _kyakkou_ several times since term began, I'm pretty certain. He's quite good at it, too, and he's as good as any Shihouin I know at concealing traces of his own reiatsu from outside attention. Combine the two and it makes him pretty much untraceable."

He smiled.

"But I got to know the pattern of it. His reiatsu flares slightly just before he casts the spell, even when he's suppressing it – so even when he was using it, I could generally tell where he was."

"That's obviously how you knew where and when to corner him, to pressure him with whatever intimidation techniques you thought necessary." Ryuu said disdainfully, and Kai frowned, too tired and sore to rise to the bait.

"Something like that." He agreed wearily. "But that's past too, now. Hirata and I have talked. We've cleared the air. And we know we're on the same side. Far more so than anyone else, Hirata is my ally."

He sighed.

"I don't know where the kid is, but I'm pretty sure he's hidden himself." He added. "I think you'll be wasting time if you cast the spell – none of you are good enough with Bakudou to break through his Bakudou and find his suppressed reiatsu. Hirata's probably been doing it since he was a small boy – judging by how naturally he uses it. Someone trying _kakushitsuijaku_ without any training won't be able to pinpoint anything."

"Really?" Shunsui looked disappointed, and Kai nodded, inwardly making a decision as he saw the resolution and anxiety in the gazes of his companions.

"But there is something else you might want to try." He continued slowly. "It's dangerous, and it's stupid, and it goes against everything that makes sense. But you're none of you going to just take that and run with it. I can tell. No matter what it means...you intend to find him, don't you?"

"I know you warned me about getting involved." Juushirou agreed slowly, and Kai shrugged.

"What I said then still stands. Nothing has changed." He said matter-of-factly. "But if it's like that, then I'll not be the one getting in the way. I might be able to help, after all. What I know is far more wide-ranging than what any of you know. And like I said, more than anyone, Hirata is owed a debt by my Clan. He's my ally. I can't ignore it either - no matter how much I try to."

His lips thinned, Onoe's pale, still form flitting through his head once more.

"Seeing Tomoyuki like that told me that I really don't like death much." He added off-handedly. "I've never really accepted it...I've never wanted to kill anyone, even though I've been trained to do it if the need arises or the order comes. But seeing him made it sink in properly. What you said was right in the end, Kyouraku. I guess I've been reflecting on it a whole lot."

"I'm sure I never meant you to agonise over anything I might have said." Shunsui sounded surprised, and Kai grinned at him sheepishly.

"You do and say a lot of stupid things, but sometimes, what you say is more true than anything else." He murmured. "I've come to realise that, even as a Shihouin, I don't believe in pointless death. So even if it's reckless, stupid and dangerous, I'll help you out. I'll tell you something that I think might help."

He glanced at Ryuu, who stared back a him impassively.

"Kuchiki, you're familiar, I think, with Endou Seimaru?"

"Seimaru-dono?" Ryuu pulled a face. "Sadly, yes. He's one who I even consider beneath _you _on the ethical ladder."

"Then use your spell and find him instead." Kai suggested. "If you know his reiatsu so well, you should be able to manage that – shouldn't you?"

"Endou Seimaru-dono?" Enishi frowned. "Then…?"

"I already told Ukitake this, and obviously he's not told any of you." Kai pursed his lips. "But I'll tell you now, on the understanding it goes no further. Seimaru took Hirata from here. That's beyond doubt. Neither have been seen since. But if Hirata isn't dead…and is concealing himself with _kyakkou_…it means that Seimaru is also somewhere nearby."

"And if we find Seimaru, we'll find Hirata?" Shunsui frowned, shaking his head. "I don't like that reasoning. Hirata isn't the type to collude with someone like Seimaru."

"No." Kai agreed. "I don't think that either. But I know – because Hirata said so himself – that he wasn't going to let harm come to the Academy. So if he _is_ still alive – and if you're all convinced that he is – then there's a reason he's staying away. And a reason Seimaru's done nothing else, yet."

Juushirou's brows knitted together.

"Seimaru's given an order and Hirata is defying it." He murmured. "But Seimaru expects him to carry it out, and is waiting…for him to report back?"

"Exactly." Kai nodded.

"And that order…?" Ryuu's eyes narrowed.

"To kill Sensei, most likely."

"To do _what_?" Enishi's eyes almost fell out of his head, and Kai nodded.

"There's no physical evidence against Seimaru. Nothing but Shihouin testimony which means nothing at all at present, and suspicions which mean even less." He said gravely. "But from the start that's been the Endou-ke's plan. _Seimaru's_ plan. To bring down the Academy by assassinating Genryuusai-sensei."

"Nobody in their right mind would stand a chance of killing Genryuusai-sensei." Ryuu said derisively. "Not Seimaru and definitely not Hirata."

"I'm not sure 'right mind' should be used when talking about Seimaru." Shunsui muttered. "Megumi would definitely beg to differ on that score."

"Besides, the Endou-ke have a solution to that problem." Kai said bitterly. "The Shihouin-ke got dragged into it as well, and even I don't know all the details. But they have something which could…probably would…hurt Genryuusai-sensei."

"But…" Enishi stared at him in horror, and Kai bit his lip.

"Neesama found out." He continued slowly. "While she was in District Seven, somehow, she found it all out. And that Aitori had betrayed us in Seimaru's favour, too. So she came here, killed Aitori and spoke to Sensei directly to warn him that something was afoot. In return Sensei gave her time to rescue the Clan before releasing his evidence to the Council investigators. I'm out of reach. Tomoyuki's out of reach. Originally Seimaru wanted to frame a Shihouin, but neither one of us were going to play ball. So in the end, he's resorted to someone else. His own kin. Hirata."

"But Hirata's refused." Shunsui said softly. "And hasn't come back here."

"Or has been hurt because he refused." Juushirou bit his lip. Kai shook his head.

"Seimaru hasn't acted." He responded. "He's waiting for something. That means Hirata's still alive, I think. And that he's waiting for Hirata's obedience. There's probably a deadline involved. So I think if you locate Seimaru, you'll soon enough locate Hirata."

"Seimaru is a dangerous proposition." Shunsui remarked. "I'm pretty sure he has a _zanpakutou._"

"He does." Kai agreed. "And that's why I advised Ukitake to keep away from it and him. But if that's not going to work, I'll at least tell you what I do know about him instead. He's not particularly good at Kidou. If he was, he'd have sussed out Hirata's _kyakkou_ and realised the kid isn't useless after all. But he hasn't. He's a ruthless and strong sword fighter, but that's about all. Zanjutsu is the only discipline he's ever cared to study to its limits, and he only learnt enough of other disciplines to allow him to reach the level needed to summon his zanpakutou."

He sighed.

"More to the point, his reiatsu control is pretty basic - his ego is too big and he's nowhere near as good as Hirata is at suppressing where he is. So he wouldn't be able to shield against someone using _kakushitsuijaku._ He probably wouldn't even know they were targeting him with it. Not even if they were using it for the first time."

He shifted slightly, wincing as he jarred his injured abdomen.

"The logical thing would be for _me_ to go meet with him, except I'm not able to leave here." He added. "Even if I broke my word to Unohana-sensei, I still probably wouldn't make it as far as the town right now without coming over faint. But either way, I think you'll have better luck acting that way than looking for Hirata. I've come to realise myself recently – he may be shy and quiet but his spirit power shouldn't be underestimated."

He grinned wryly.

"Aitori liked him because he grasped so quickly all the implications of light and speed in Hohou theory - and applied them without too much extra instruction. Well, it's logical that he would do. After all, _Kyakkou_ is a _Bakudou_ involving light manipulation." He added simply. "In the end it's all really just common sense."

"I don't think common sense is a phrase that applies to any part of this plan." Ryuu rubbed his temples, eying Kai doubtfully. "And all of this you are telling us, why? Even before me, who you despise?"

"Hirata's my ally." Kai said simply. "That's all. He's an Endou. I'm a Shihouin. He put faith in my sister. I'll put faith in him."

"Then tomorrow, that's what we should do." Shunsui said decidedly. "Track down Seimaru. We don't have to go after him exactly, after all. Just hover and wait for Hirata to appear. Right? Nobody's going to take on a madman with a _zanpakutou_ - but if we can grab Hirata, we can maybe do something about Seimaru with Sensei and put a stop to this once and for all."

---------------------------------

Once more at the border.

Hirata gripped more tightly onto the reins of his horse, gazing out across the hills and valleys of District One as it lay out before him. Around him, Shihouin retainers still wearing the colours of Kamuki's administration gathered, shouting orders and instructions as they cleared the wooden divides and allowed the three travellers through. He was not a confident rider, nor had he ever before been forced to travel at a gallop through unfamiliar countryside, grabbing hold of two thin strips of leather that were the only thing stopping him from going flying under the hooves of the creature behind. Yet he had somehow swallowed his panic once more, casting a glance across at his companions as he did so.

Midori-sama was with him. Etsuo-san too. And he was no longer alone in this battle against his cousin's ambition.

Since his arrival in District Two, everything had been a blur. Midori had insisted on him cleaning off the debris of his desperate flight to find her, and consequently he felt much better than he had on his arrival, his dark hair washed clean of the mud and leaf litter it had acquired during his journey and, for once, flowing loose around his shoulders instead of confined back in a long, lacklustre tail.

_I'm not used to it unfettered like this. But Midori-sama said it made me look older – and besides, I'm sure she's wise enough to know it. Endou-ke nobles in proper regalia wear hair-clasps engraved with the family's emblem, not simple ties that servants or students might consider acceptable. It's her way of respecting the traditions of my family – better it flies loose than be confined in a manner that goes against the Endou-ke's way._

_Although I wouldn't have minded if that had been the case. Shouichi-jiisama might have had violent objections to the kind of uniform the Academy selected for its students, but I don't mind at all not standing out in a crowd. Still, if she's right…if it doesn't make me look like a wimp in the shadows, all to the good. I'm trying to be brave, after all. I'm trying my best, Otousama, to remember what you said about the Endou-ke. I'm doing this for you and for my friends at school – I hope it's what you'd want from me. I think that it is. And either way, it's too late to back out now. I've made my choices, after all.  
_  
While he had been bathed and robed by the Shihouin's own retainers, he remembered, she had set to making arrangements for the coming of the investigators, laying all the foundations necessary by which her family would meet the oncoming threat. She was worried about it, that Hirata knew. Yet when he had asked her again, she had firmly told him that her duty to her allies was paramount, even in times of crisis.

Hirata knew that she was right, despite whatever private misgivings she might have about leaving her land so soon after claiming it. Without allies, the Shihouin-ke would surely flounder – Midori was looking ahead, and trusting that in the short term her gamble would be the right one.

He glanced down at the unfamiliar clothing, frowning slightly as he took in the fine fabrics.

It had been some time since he had worn anything that wasn't the school _hakama_, yet although it had been the Shihouin who had robed him, the attire was little different from the kind of clothing he had worn back home in Seventh District. The sensation made him both anxious and homesick at once, and he ran the edge of his palm against the _obi _pensively, feeling the rich gold and brown silk beneath his touch.

Without his glasses it was hard to make out clearly the patterning, but Midori had assured him that what he wore did not bear the Shihouin crest, and Hirata's own Endou pendant hung at his throat, a heavy sign of his blood ties and also a proud statement of his alliance with the assassin Clan.

_Brown and red are the Endou-ke colours. Black and gold Shihouin. By dressing this way it's clear to anyone where my loyalties are – and this time, I'm not backing away from them._

The decisions were made now and there would be no going back.

"It's drawing towards the evening." As she caught his gaze, Midori offered him a smile. "The sun might set in a couple of hours. That's what Seimaru said to you, isn't it? By sundown on the second day. I think we'll make it in good time – good enough to see him off in any case."

"Mm." Hirata frowned, pursing his lips as he did so. "Do you think so? Are we going to ride as fast as we did to get here? Because…"

"You're afraid you might fall off?" Midori raised an eyebrow, shaking her head in amusement. "Come on, Hirata, you can do better than that. A noble son of a powerful Clan house? You'd look a pitiful sight if you had to ride with a woman as lead, don't you think?"

Hirata flushed red at this, looking embarrassed.

"I'll manage." He said resolutely, tightening his grasp once again as his knuckles went white under the pressure of his grip. "After all, I came to ask you to help me as my ally. Not because I want to hide."

"Exactly." Midori looked approving. "You came to me as an ally comes to an ally and I chose to honour that request. I'm glad you see it that way too, Hirata-kun. And we'll make it in time, don't you worry. If Seimaru said he'd meet you there at sundown, there's no sense in being too early. We don't want to give away our presence too quickly, after all…it's better if we manage to take him by surprise."

She glanced across at Saku, who had been riding in silence at her mistress's left hand.

"Saku, are you all right if we gallop? You've said nothing about it so far."

"I am not as familiar with horses as you are, Midori-sama, but I can manage." Saku offered a faint smile. "Please, don't worry about me."

"Then we'll pick up the pace and take the shortest route down towards the township near the school." Midori decided. "Hirata, I want you to listen to me carefully, because I won't repeat this again. When we draw nearer, you are to take Saku into the forest and use your Kidou to conceal the both of you from sight as well as you can. Understood? Seimaru's spiritual senses may be pathetic, but his eyes work just fine...and if he happens to see you nearby, he might come after you. And Saku is not to be put in harm's way either, even though she has chosen to travel at my side. I will be relying on you to protect her – while I will deal with Seimaru and the unfortunate complication of my betrothal agreement."

Hirata swallowed hard, then nodded his head.

"I understand." He said quietly. "I'll do as you say, Midori-sama. I've never used _kyakkou_ to shield more than myself before – but I don't see why I shouldn't be able to do it. Seimaru's bad at Kidou, in any case. He never really understood the point of it, so he focused his attention on summoning his sword."

"He doesn't know, then, about your little trick?"

"No." Hirata shook his head. "Father taught it to me for my own protection. He taught it to Eiraki-chan, too. But Seimaru probably doesn't know it. And he certainly wouldn't think I could do anything he couldn't…he doesn't think I'm capable of anything much at all."

"He's going to get a surprise then, isn't he." Midori murmured. "Even as a boy of sixteen, Hirata, you have wits about you that that one never will. You are an interesting Endou, but you give me hope for this alliance Uncle bound us into and I'll nurture that hope for the time being. I still owe Misashi-sama a debt, after all – this seems the best way to repay it."

Hirata offered a faint smile.

"Father would be glad, I think, to hear you say that." He murmured. "But I…I'm not sixteen, Midori-sama. Not yet. Not until the end of the autumn. I'm still only fifteen now."

"Fifteen?" Midori looked startled, casting him a sidelong glance, then grinning. "Well, then you're all the more impressive if that's the case. Maybe it's the influence of the Academy, or maybe it's living with the Endou-ke for so long, but you have the sense and perception of an adult even now. You'll go far, I think, Hirata-kun. I understand why your Father has hopes of you. I think you'll make a fine Shinigami, once you've outgrown your teenage nerves."

"I guess we'll see." Hirata said simply. "At the moment I'm clinging onto a horse when I've barely ridden before – I can't see anything ahead of me clearer than the reins in my hands, and I've no idea what's going to happen when we get to where we're going. To tell you the truth, I want to start crying. But…if I do that…"

He frowned, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"If I do that, I won't be able to see anything at all." He said firmly. "And if I do that, I won't be of any use to you either, Midori-sama. I won't be able to protect Etsuo-san and I won't be able to help stop Seimaru in any way. So I'm really trying not to. Ukitake-kun isn't here to protect me this time – I want to do it myself so that he doesn't get hurt."

"There's that flicker of Endou spirit again." Midori said lightly, casting him a grin. "You look the part at the moment, you know. Your glasses are too big for you, and they make you look younger and more feeble than I think you are. Like that, robed properly in noble clothing, you look a lot more imposing than I ever thought you could."

"But I can't see clearly, so I need my glasses all the same." Hirata sighed. "My vision really isn't good enough without them – though maybe right now that'll be a good thing."

Midori was silent for a moment, then,

"You trust me, don't you, Hirata-chan?"

"Yes." Hirata coloured. "I trust you. I gave you my word and I trust you."

"Yes. I thought so." Midori grinned. "Because you're a lot more chatty than I had you pegged to be the first time we met. It's as though you've dropped your guard and let me in a little – and I like to know what the people around me are thinking. Your friend Ukitake isn't shy about sharing his opinions – you should try sharing yours a little more often, too. Follow his example. After all, your personality isn't warped, ugly or twisted. You should have confidence in yourself."

Hirata reddened further, and Midori laughed.

"Ah well. Shyness in a teenage boy is to be expected when he gets complimented by a beautiful woman." She said resignedly. "In the meantime, we should ride. Get ready, both of you – it's time to pick up the pace and make sure we don't miss our rendezvous."

She dug her heels into her horse's flanks, a slight twitch of the reins urging him into a quicker pace, and Hirata swallowed his misgivings, as his and Saku's horses followed suit, not wanting to be left behind by their companion. For a while they rode in silence, then,

"Midori-sama, are you going to fight Seimaru?" Hirata asked hesitantly. Midori frowned, nodding her head.

"It may well come to that, though if I can avoid killing him then I will." She said frankly. "I intend to keep my word as long as I can, both to Genryuusai-sama and to you and Ukitake."

Hirata frowned.

"Ridding the Endou-ke of Seimaru's influence is my duty. It's what Father sent me away to learn to do." He said uneasily. "But I can't…not yet. I'm not strong enough to do it yet. The longer it takes me, the more people get hurt. And I don't like that at all."

"Are you saying you _want _me to kill him?" Midori looked startled, and Hirata shook his head.

"N…no. It's _my_ duty, so I'm not asking that." He said bravely. "But…if it happened…I wouldn't be upset. And if…if it did happen…Father wouldn't either. The Endou-ke would find a way to shield you, if it did. I know that. Even behind Grandfather's back."

"Well, let's see what arises." Midori's lips thinned. "My _zanpakutou_ is not a fighting sword, it's a killing sword. Once released, its battle options are to kill and destroy. I don't want to use Akekage, but I suspect I'm going to have to. Seimaru won't balk at drawing his weapon on a woman who jilted him, I'm sure."

"No. Probably not." Hirata chewed on his lip for a moment, then, "Then there's one other thing I want to tell you, Midori-sama. Something that I have…hidden away back at school. Something that only Ukitake-kun has seen, and something about which I've spoken to Shihouin-kun on one brief occasion. Something I took from Aitori-sensei's house, after he was killed."

"After I killed him." Midori corrected, and Hirata reddened, nodding his head.

"Ye…yes."

"I thought as much. It was your reiatsu I felt then, coming close to the scene of the crime." Midori eyed him pensively. "I knew it was familiar, but I couldn't place why. You're an Endou and your reiatsu resembles theirs because of it. You found Aitori's body, then? I'm sorry for that. It can't have been a nice scene for you to walk into."

"It wasn't." Hirata shook his head. "And I didn't come because of you, specifically. I came to speak to Aitori-sensei about something and felt the flare of your _zanpakutou_. When I saw Aitori-sensei dead I…"

He faltered, then,

"I found a letter from Seimaru to Aitori-sensei, detailing certain things." He said quietly. "It's an incriminating letter. It could destroy Seimaru. But it could also destroy my Clan completely…so I took it and I hid it away. I think any other correspondence Aitori-sensei must have burned – since Minabe-sensei took the place to pieces but didn't find anything except proof of his work for the Shihouin."

"Which I had hoped I'd destroyed, but clearly not." Midori sighed. "And this letter is in your possession?"

"Not right now, it isn't. But it is at the school. Nobody but me knows where it's hidden…only Ukitake-kun has seen the contents of it and he understands why it has to be kept secret."

"But it implicates Seimaru?"

"Yes."

"I see." Midori's eyes narrowed. "That's something worth knowing. Even if it's not in my possession – even if I don't wish to bring Misashi-sama into trouble because of my actions – it's still worth knowing."

"I'm not going to surrender it to the Shihouin-ke, or the Endou-ke, or Sensei." Hirata said quietly. "But I thought if you knew it existed…"

"It's all right, Hirata-kun." Midori flashed him a smile. "I understand your motives and your caution does you credit. I'll keep it well in mind, don't worry. Even without seeing this letter…I'm pretty sure that I can use what you've just told me to help turn the tide where Seimaru's concerned."


	35. Shrike's Snare

**Chapter Thirty Four: Shrike's Snare**

"You know, after this, this town is going to have a notorious reputation."

As Juushirou and Shunsui made their way down the stone pathway, Shunsui cast his companion a grin, a rueful look in his dark brown eyes. "I'm not even sure what the locals call it – but I think it'll stay with me all my life regardless."

"I know what you mean." Juushirou admitted, pursing his lips as he gazed up at the cloud speckled blue sky overhead. "Shunsui…I'm uneasy about this. I have been since yesterday…and I'm even more so now."

"Are you still feeling ill?" Shunsui cast him an anxious glance. "Because I wasn't sure you should be coming anyhow, but…"

"Where it's Hirata, I have to." Juushirou shook his head. "I'm tired and stiff, but my fever's gone down. That's probably thanks to Edogawa-san's remedy as much as anything – it's not that, Shunsui. Don't look worried. I'm fine that way. It's just…a funny feeling. It's probably nothing. Ignore me."

He paused, his lips thinning as he contemplated the events so far that day.

The first thing had been a surprise assembly called by the Headmaster a little after breakfast, which, in the end, had lasted almost until lunchtime. All the classes of the school had been present, from the first years through to the Seniors, and the Great Hall had been packed from one end to the other as they had crowded in to listen to Genryuusai's announcements. Only the three first years – Kai, Hirata and Onoe – had been absent, and somehow Juushirou had felt their absences more keenly in light of such a busy meeting.

_Even though I had known that Shihouin-kun was sleeping and under orders to stay where he was – it's not the same with Onoe-kun or Hirata and I guess I didn't like that, regardless of anything that's happened so far._

The Headmaster had seemed similarly preoccupied, and from his expression Juushirou had known that he had had no further leads on finding the missing Hirata. He had spent no time at all discussing that or the attempt Onoe had made on his own life, and instead had announced the lifting of the heavy curfew – at least, to some extent.

"Confining you all here is bad for you." He had admitted. "Especially considering that there are no classes for another few days. This being the case, I'm relaxing the restriction on students leaving the Academy campus, so long as certain rules are exactly and faithfully respected."

He had paused, a dull hum passing around the chamber at this surprising announcement, and then had addressed them all gravely once more.

"No student below Senior Class is to leave here alone under any circumstances." He had continued softly. "For first years, this is not a new imposition, but I will enforce it for years above first year for the time being. All students wishing to leave the premises must still report to me or to a Senior for a token and must show the token when passing in or out of the gate. No student will be permitted to leave the grounds more than once in a specific day, regardless of his or her errand, or be away from the school for longer than three hours on any trip. Finally, for the time being, _no_ students – including those belonging to the Senior Class – are permitted to go beyond the local area. This means that the township is within bounds, and the forest leading up to it. But any forestland beyond the town is forbidden, and the mountains are certainly well out of range."

He had paused at this juncture, and Juushirou had been sure that it was no accident his gaze had brushed over the row where he and Shunsui were seated.

"Students who are under restriction for other matters or offences or who have not been cleared from the Healing Bay as fit to do so may not be issued with tokens." He said frankly. "And one other thing. This afternoon, men will be leaving District One to carry out important business on behalf of the Council of Elders. You will not attempt to interfere, bother or cross their paths in any way. Regardless of the status some of you carry in your home territories, this is the Academy and you are nothing more here than mere students. Please remember this at all times – I will_ not_ tolerate Clan battles seeping into school life."

With that ominous threat still hanging over them, the classes had been dismissed to their midday meal, and as soon as it was over the first years had gathered out by the trees, Ryuu with book in hand as they had settled themselves on the grass. Mitsuki and Sora had arrived moments later, and after much discussion, the spell had been prepared.

It had taken four or five attempts to get it to work even in its most base form, by which point beads of sweat had begun to soak Ryuu's brow and his eyes had begun to take on the sheen of tiredness. Yet he had persisted, and at length he had managed it, summoning enough _reiryoku_ to cast the spell and gain a rough clue to Seimaru's location.

Juushirou didn't know whether or not their actions had been under suspicion or whether their teachers had simply been too busy with other things to notice first years playing with Bakudou they did not fully understand. The coordinates Ryuu had provided in the end had been fuzzy and imprecise, yet even so they had considered it a success.

And now, as the day had begun to draw into the afternoon, Shunsui and Juushirou were heading into town in the hope of finding and intercepting Hirata before he could meet with his enigmatic cousin.

"Kuchiki really wiped himself out casting that spell." Shunsui observed now, pursing his lips. "Maybe I should've tried it after all."

"I'm sorry I stopped you." Juushirou looked penitent. "But I thought we might have the authorities coming down on us in some way or another, and I didn't want you getting another mark on your record."

"I know." Shunsui grinned, reaching over to pat his friend's shoulder reassuringly. "I wasn't sure about that either. But at least by coming into town with you I can make sure you don't stretch yourself and I can do something to help bring Hirata back."

"It had to be us, really, in the end." Juushirou said with a sigh. "Shihouin-kun was right when he said he'd have been a better choice, but even if he's back with us it's obvious he's not strong enough to be up and out of bed for very long. This walk would probably have finished him. Kuchiki-kun's exhausted himself casting the spell, and Houjou-kun really isn't good at sensing reiatsu. He wouldn't be able to lock onto Hirata or Seimaru, even if we were in the right vicinity."

"And much as I don't like to be sexist, I wouldn't send Sora or Mitsuki-chan into an environment where Endou Seimaru might be." Shunsui added darkly. "He's not particularly respectful towards women, and he has an ugly reputation when it comes to dealing with them. I've heard stories that may or may not be true about how he likes to taunt and torture them if he has a chance – something to do with a hang-up about women taking power over men, I think. No doubt Eighth District propaganda's made the stories worse – but even so, it's not something I'd like to risk with either one of them."

"We're not going to try and find Seimaru, though. We're trying to avoid him and find Hirata." Juushirou reminded his friend, and Shunsui nodded.

"Yes. Which is why being able to sense reiatsu is important – you're right, Houjou would've been out of his depth."

He frowned.

"Don't you think it's strange, though, that we spent a lot of today trying to cast that spell right – and yet nobody came down on us for it?"

"Yes." Juushirou agreed. "But maybe Sensei's been involved in other things. Or maybe…"

"He's letting us play with fire so we get our fingers burned and don't do it again?" Shunsui's brows knitted together. "He's a rum old fool, isn't he? Teaching his students by putting them in danger."

"Experimenting with Bakudou within the school grounds isn't as dangerous as experimenting with Hadou." Juushirou reflected, and Shunsui snorted.

"You obviously need to look more closely at Ryuu-kun's library book." He said emphatically. "There are some plenty dangerous Bakudou too, believe me."

"But we only cast a tracing spell. We didn't start looking into ways to fight anyone." Juushirou pointed out, and Shunsui nodded.

"Maybe that's it. Since it was only a tracing spell. But they must have known we'd cast it. Or tried to at least. And they must know why. I don't know about you, Juu-kun, but I think that Sensei's let us fly under the radar on this one."

"So that we can find Hirata?"

"Or expose Seimaru – which would be my guess." Shunsui shrugged. "Right now there's no evidence against him, after all."

"And we're his bait?" Juushirou looked horrified. Shunsui grinned.

"If he knows where we are and what we're doing, maybe he's keeping an eye on us." He reflected. "But yes. Perhaps. I wouldn't be surprised – Seimaru's a dangerous individual, after all. And to be honest, Juu, they're having no luck tracking Hirata down either. I wonder if he thinks we might help him out here. That we might succeed where his men have failed."

"I don't see why."

"Because we know the tyke." Shunsui said matter of factly. "And therefore we know better than Yama-jii does how he thinks."

"It hasn't helped us so far." Juushirou sighed. "I hope you're wrong, Shunsui. I hope it's just that Sensei has been occupied with other things – like dealing with the Shihouin plot with the Council. He had a lot of people meeting with him today. Maybe because of that he didn't pay attention to first years breaking Kidou rules."

"We'll see, no doubt. I suspect the end result may be the same." Shunsui shrugged. "Either way, we're almost at our limit. The town's up ahead – and whatever else we do, for now we'll keep within Yama-jii's boundaries."

"I can't sense Hirata." As they walked through the town gates, Juushirou creased his brow, reaching out his senses for any faint sign of his classmate's reiatsu. "But I suppose that doesn't mean anything, if his Bakudou is good enough for him to hide completely."

"I'm not sure myself from reading that book of Kuchiki's whether _Kyakkou_ is meant to conceal reiatsu or just hide someone from sight." Shunsui reflected. "I didn't get that impression, to be honest. But from what Kai-kun said - it's more than likely that Hirata's learnt a hybrid of the spell to protect himself - or has just automatically come to flat-line his reiatsu when he needs to use the Bakudou spell. It's interesting, really. I knew we had underestimated the kid, but I hadn't realised it was by so much."

"Hirata ranked fifth in the last tests, above students who are two years or more older than he is in some cases." Juushirou said quietly. "Only you, me, Kuchiki-kun and Sora ranked above him. Admittedly Shihouin-kun didn't do very well last time, and probably should have done better. But for a boy of fifteen to rank so highly - we should have probably realised it sooner. If not for his Ouyoudou, Shunsui, Hirata might well be higher. It was only the fact he was bottom in that that dragged his marks back."

"Yes, I'd thought of that too." Shunsui agreed. "His Kidou and Hohou are on a par with ours in most respects, and he's a brainbox type so Sakusen comes naturally to him. Perhaps we shouldn't be worried about him after all, you know. Maybe he doesn't need any help."

"Either way I'd like to find him and find out." Juushirou said grimly. "So I vote we split up and take the town half each."

"Split up?" Shunsui looked doubtful. "Sensei said we weren't to go out alone, Juu."

"He said we weren't to go out alone. Not that we couldn't separate once out." Juushirou pointed out, and Shunsui snorted.

"That sounds like my kind of logic, not yours." He said, amused. "I don't think Yama-jii'd leave more than scraps of you if you used that argument to him."

"But we'll cover ground more quickly if we do." Juushirou pointed out. "And it's not dangerous. We're not looking for Seimaru. We're looking for Hirata. And even if we passed Seimaru, there's no reason he'd speak to us. Neither of us are Endou-ke. Neither of us have political links with them. I'm well beneath his notice, and you're the brother of a neighbour he hates. He wouldn't make a scene based on one of us accidentally crossing his path."

"I suppose so." Shunsui still looked hesitant, and Juushirou frowned.

"Well? What's bothering you?"

"Nothing, probably." Shunsui shrugged his shoulders, letting out a heavy sigh. "It's as you say. It would make no sense for him to draw attention to himself in foreign territory, especially if he's up to something. We have people who know where we are, and if he wants to cross Yama-jii, he probably doesn't want to give him any advance warning of it. I just...can't help thinking Seimaru doesn't think as logically as that. That's all. And that if his Clan are so against the Academy, he already knows something about you and the other District students."

Juushirou faltered, remembering Kai's words.

"It was Seimaru who told Onoe-kun that I was using illicit drugs to keep up with you all." He murmured softly. "Shihouin-kun told me - I'd forgotten till now."

"There you go then." Shunsui nodded. "He does know about you. And you don't have a Clan connection to protect you if he wanted to get angry with you."

"No, but I have Sensei and he knows where I am. We didn't lie, after all, and we haven't broken bounds." Juushirou quashed his misgivings, shrugging his shoulders. "We only have three hours, Shunsui. Two and a half, probably, now. Otherwise we'll be breaking the curfew rules. We can't waste time arguing over it. We'll split up and meet in an hour by the fountain - all right? You take the east side, and I'll take the west. It's not a huge town - we should be able to cover it all in that time. Then we'll have a while to check the forest if we've had no luck, and head back before we get into trouble."

Shunsui sighed.

"Fine. You make sense." He acknowledged reluctantly. "So we'll do it your way. Just be careful, all right? We don't know what's lurking in the shadows, or whether Seimaru might have brought friends with him on his little field trip to District One."

"Don't worry. I've no intention of crossing him at all." Juushirou shook his head. "In an hour, then. At the fountain. Good luck, Shunsui."

"You too." Shunsui nodded, turning on his heel and disappearing down one of the side alleys that led to the east side of town. For a moment, Juushirou hesitated, then he sighed, shaking his head as if to clear it.

I hope an hour is long enough." He murmured, turning and walking slowly down the main street, taking the first turning and heading towards the textile quarter where a fabric market was still in full flow.

_I wonder if Shihouin-kun is right. Has Hirata been hiding, waiting for Seimaru to appear so that he can meet with him? Maybe bargain or plead with him? Is that possible? Kuchiki-kun's spell seemed to indicate that Seimaru was in the town - which would suggest he was waiting for something. But is it Hirata? Or something else? Is Hirata even still alive? No matter what anyone says, that still worries me more than anything. Otherwise how do you just disappear?_

As he slipped through the crowds of local people filling the marketplace, he tried to block out their cheerful shouts and greetings, isolating himself from their merry banter as he struggled to pick out something distinctive in the busy town. They had chosen a bad day to come, he realised, with it being a market day and with people from all the villages around having made the trip in to buy their wares in the relevant quarters. Yet even so he persisted, separating all the faint buzzes of ordinary reiatsu as he searched for one belonging to a member of a specific Clan.

As he reached the edge of the square, he thought he saw the flicker of a cloak out of the corner of his eye, and he paused, turning as he tried to register what he had seen. There was nobody there, however, and he pursed his lips, wondering if his anxieties were starting to play havoc with his judgement. Even in the brief moment he had seen it, he had realised that the cloak had clearly not been the dull grey or black that typified the local people's worn clothing, but a more distinctive deep red in hue.

_On a day like this, a cloak shouldn't be necessary. Only someone in a position of authority would want to strut around in summer heat wearing fine clothing, and in such colours..._

He frowned.

"Find Seimaru and you find Hirata." He muttered, as a faint sensation trickled across his wits. "Endou-ke reiatsu."

_  
All right then. I'll follow and see where it leads me. So long as I keep my distance, it should be all right...I'm not going to try and speak to him, I'm just going to try and find my friend. If he's in trouble in some way, I'm definitely going to go for help. But if I don't at least try and find him, nobody will know where he is to help him._

To think was to act, and he darted across to the side alley, pausing as he checked for any sign of trouble before slipping down it. He was heading towards a familiar part of town by taking this path, he realised suddenly, for the house that Aitori had died in was in this vicinity, and with a jolt he understood.

_Aitori's house. That's what Kuchiki-kun's coordinates were trying to highlight. Aitori was Seimaru's ally. Of course he'd be here. Of course Hirata would meet him here. It makes perfect sense! The place has been completely taken to pieces by law enforcement. They'd never think that the troublemakers would come back and use it again. So of course that's where they'd go. The one place that local retainers would have already searched and ticked off their list._

He crept up to the property, hesitating for a moment as he stretched out his senses once more. The faint flicker of noble reiatsu caught his attention once more, plus something else, and his eyes widened as he recognised what it was.

"Hirata!" He murmured, hurrying forward and wrenching back the battered fencing as he made for the back door. His caution and resolve tossed aside by this faint flutter of his friend's life force, he darted forward, inwardly thinking of nothing more than finding and extricating the young boy before any harm could befall him.

The back door was somewhat ajar, and at the sight of it, Juushirou felt relief flood through him.

_Using Kidou to break it down would reveal I was here, after all, and I'm not good at breaking through locks...though I bet Shunsui would be, if he were here. But with any luck, I'll find Hirata and the both of us will meet him at the fountain. Then we can go back to school and everything will be settled one way or another by the authorities after that._

He ducked under the low-set door arch, inching his way cautiously along the dark hallway towards the flicker of Hirata's faint reiatsu. It was coming from the furthest room, he realised with some revulsion - the room in which Aitori had died, and which, according to popular rumour, was still stained with the teacher's blood. Still he did not falter, running his fingers cautiously around the frame of the door before sliding it cautiously back. It squeaked slightly on its runners, and he froze, frightened that he had been discovered. But there was no movement, and carefully he continued to open it until there was a wide enough gap for him to slip his slender body through.

He did so, standing upright and then stopping dead as he gazed around him in confusion.

The room was empty.

_But I can feel Hirata. I know he's here. I can sense his reiatsu more clearly now...which means there must be somewhere I'm not seeing._

He stepped gingerly over the fading red-brown stains on the floor panels, forcing the thought of his Hohou teacher's demise from his thoughts as he glanced all around him.

_A secret panel? A chamber I can't see? Something like that? Is that what's going on? _

"Well, you seem to have a bloodhound's wits after all, don't you."

A voice behind him made him freeze, a chill prickling down his spine as he felt the sudden woosh of reiatsu entering the room. Slowly and apprehensively he turned around, and at his reaction, the newcomer laughed, folding his arms in amusement across his chest.

"I thought that I might lure you out. One of you. All of you. But you in particular. Ukitake Juushirou."

Juushirou's eyes widened, staring at the speaker in dismay, and his companion nodded.

"Hirata is not here. Yet." He added softly. "Though he will be, and we will have words. Serious words, I think, on how he thinks he can call my bluff and not carry out the orders given. I thought that, if I brought you here, I might convince him more clearly about what I want done. Then he'd know, after all, that I'm not lying, and that I will keep my word if he doesn't do as he's been told."

Juushirou's heart clenched in fear, and the red-cloaked man bowed his head.

"We haven't met formally, yet." He murmured. "And even though I know you by name, perhaps you're not so sure about mine? District children are so poorly educated, after all."

"Endou Seimaru." Juushirou murmured, and Seimaru's eyes glittered.

"Seimaru-_sama_ to you." He said sharply, crossing the room in a few quick strides and slapping Juushirou hard enough across the cheek to send the boy tumbling to the floor. "I am your superior in every respect and yet you do not even bow your head to me? Do they not teach manners of any kind, then, in the Kuchiki District?"

Juushirou struggled into a sitting position, reaching up his hand to touch his cheek tentatively, then,

"I'm sorry if I've offended you, Seimaru-sama." He said quietly, fighting against the fear that flooded through his system. "But I came here to see Hirata. I didn't come to speak to you. And even though you say he's not here...I'm finding that hard to believe."

"You followed his reiatsu, after all." Seimaru nodded. "Yes. Kai did warn me that your senses were particularly sharp, so I thought I'd take advantage of that fact."

He pulled his sword from its resting place at his side, bringing it down quickly in a cross shape against the wall, and as the panels split and fell away, he smiled, reaching in and pulling out a small, glittering object.

"This is what brought you here." He said softly. "I know my cousin far better than you, after all. This device was created by an employee of mine and its really surprisingly useful. All it takes is the slightest drop of the individual's blood, and it resonates their presence across the local area like a beacon. Hirata's not here, but his blood is something I find remarkably easy to acquire, considering the amount of times I've made him spill it over the years. And I thought that you wouldn't cross my path, but you'd come looking for him. It seems I was right."

"Hirata's...blood?" Juushirou swallowed, then, "Is Hirata hurt?"

"I don't know. Yet." Seimaru shrugged. "I haven't seen him in two days, near enough. I can't speak for what might happen when he gets here, though. I made it very clear to him what the consequences were of crossing me...obviously he needs a little more persuasion."

Anger flooded through Juushirou at this point, and he pulled himself to his feet, glaring at Seimaru indignantly.

"You want to kill Sensei, don't you?" He said softly, his voice shaking as he met the noble's gaze with his own. "You want to destroy him and the dream he worked so hard to create. You don't care what happens to Seireitei in the future, or even now - so long as you can grasp power and hold it for yourself. I know about you, Seimaru-sama. I know that your family are frightened of people like me. That's the real reason you brought me here. Not because of Hirata. But because I worry you."

"_I'm_ afraid of _you_?" Seimaru snorted. "Why would I be afraid of a runt like you? Your sickness is apparent just at first sight, and your birthline muddied and oblique. Why would I, heir to my Clan and a true Shinigami care at all about someone untrained and raw like you?"

"If that's the case, why did you tell Onoe-kun that I was using illicit chemicals to enhance my_ reiryoku_?" Juushirou shot back. "Why would you do that, if I didn't threaten you? Why would you know my name, Seimaru-sama, if you weren't worried about what I was learning or where my training might take me?"

Seimaru's eyes narrowed for a moment, then he smiled, absently tapping his sword against his leg.

"Well. So you are cleverer than you appear to be." He murmured. "You reason things out, just as Kai seemed to think you did."

"Because of you Shihouin-kun is hurt, and Onoe-kun might not ever recover his wits." Juushirou said coldly. "And now you want to hurt Hirata as well, all because you're afraid of what people like me might do to your standing in the future? Do you know what that really means, Seimaru-sama? It means that you think I'll surpass you. It means that you don't have much standing at all - because if you did, you wouldn't worry about those you consider beneath you!"

His eyes glinted with angry steel, even as he felt the unyielding flare of Kuchiki pride rear its head once more. Somewhere in the distance, he thought he could feel the prickle of electricity stinging at his senses, and his fear momentarily displaced by indignation, he stood his ground boldly.

"If you thought us nothing, you wouldn't worry that one day we'd come and put you in your place." He snapped. "And not just me. The people in Seventh District that you persecute and torment and force to flee for sanctuary over the border. The people that live in this world - over whom you're meant to cast your protection. You're afraid of all of them - aren't you? And that tells me the only thing that anyone needs to know about you."

"Which is?" Seimaru's eyes were near slits, and Juushirou raised his head proudly.

"That you're weak." He said quietly. "And you know it."

"You really do have an unpleasant way of presenting yourself." Seimaru's gaze darkened. "Especially when speaking about things you don't understand. The Clans have held Seireitei for generations. They are the ones who have power and influence. Nobody else. It is not your place to start trying to drag yourselves up from the peasantry or meet us face to face on any level. It is unnatural. And as for you, you in particular are unnatural."

He jabbed his sword in Juushirou's direction.

"You have far too much reiatsu for one of your birth." He said coldly. "You are an anomaly - abnormal and unsightly. Whether you use chemicals or not, the result is the same. You are still something that has appeared from the Districts without reason or warning - a flaw in evolution and an abberation that should be eliminated as soon as possible."

He frowned.

"I was going to wait for Hirata's arrival, because I was going to kill you in front of him." He said softly. "But I can't listen to your ignorance any longer. I'll dispatch you now, and Hirata can weep over your spilt blood when he gets here."

He tilted his sword for a moment, then,

"I could simply slit your throat, but I think you deserve a more punishing death than that." He murmured. "For Hirata's benefit as well as for my own enjoyment. At least then I'll be rid of you - and that boy will finally learn that he can't protect anything, and shouldn't cross his Clan."

He raised his sword, amber light glinting briefly across the blade.

"_Subete o moyase_." He murmured, as flame-like flickers reiatsu began to flare around the edges of his body. "_Yojinmozu_."

* * *

"Yojinmozu!"

As they reached the outskirts of the town, Hirata froze, reining in his horse as horror flooded his senses. "Midori-sama, did you feel it? Did you sense that? It was Yojinmozu...Seimaru's _zanpakutou_! He's released it!"

"I see. So that's what Seimaru calls a _zanpakutou_ spirit." Midori frowned, halting her own beast and holding a hand up to Saku to follow suit. "He's released it all right - but he's keeping it as low key as he can, like the coward that he is. Does he think that officials hereabouts are fool enough to overlook it, even if he tries to reel in his power?"

"Why would he release Yojinmozu here?" Hirata whispered, alarm in his pale blue eyes. "Midori-sama, something must have happened. Why would he..?"

"Perhaps Seimaru-sama has been apprehended by District One's people after all." Saku suggested softly, and Midori shook her head.

"If that was the case, he'd have no reason to hide what he'd done." She said frankly. "Which means that whatever it is is a bit more sinister than I'd like."

She swung herself down from her horse, holding the reins out to Saku.

"The rules have changed." She said briskly. "Saku, take my horse and tether it in the forest. Hirata, go with her, and do the same with yours. I want you to leave them there. Wait until the coast seems safe, and then, Hirata, I want you to take Saku to the school. You may have questions to face, but tell them that I will come and I will explain everything to Genryuusai-sama myself. Just that there is danger, and that you're bringing Saku back for her protection, under my instruction."

"Back to...the school?" Hirata bit his lip. "I might not even be welcome there, now."

"Whatever happens from hereon in, Genryuusai-sama will not refuse refuge when a conflict is in place." Midori said quietly. "Trust me and do as I say."

She glanced at Saku.

"Are you clear, Saku, on what I want from you?"

"Yes, Midori-sama." Saku nodded her head, although there was a faint flicker of apprehension in her dark eyes. "I'll go with Hirata-sama and go to the school when the coast is clear enough to do so."

"Whatever you sense from the town, I want you to go. I don't want either of you to try and interfere." Midori said firmly. "A _zanpakutou_ should only be met with a _zanpakutou_, and I don't want others caught in the crossfire if it can be helped."

Hirata opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment, something else assailed his senses and he swallowed hard.

"Ukitake-kun!" He exclaimed, horror flooding his body a second time as he recognised a distinctive reiatsu suddenly flare through his thoughts. "Midori-sama, it's Ukitake-kun! I didn't do as Seimaru said, and now...he's got..."

"Do as I say and trust me." Midori cut across him, her expression grave. "I won't let anyone get killed. Trust me, Hirata. I'll make sure Seimaru doesn't succeed in whatever he wants to do - no matter what!"

* * *

Meanwhile, across the east side of town, Shunsui had also frozen in his tracks, terror creeping up inside his soul as he had registered the twisted swirl of reiatsu piercing through the summer haze.

"Seimaru." He muttered, swinging around and taking off at full speed back towards the other part of town. "It must be. It can't be anyone else. The Endou-ke have distinctive reiatsu, after all - and I'd know it anywhere. This is his - distorted and poisonous, seeping into the air."

He narrowed his gaze, stepping up a speed level as he contemplated the reasons why the nobleman might have released his weapon.

_Either Hirata. or Juu. Or both. _

His lips thinned, even as he unconsciously slipped his body into shunpo, willing every element of his strength to propel him faster towards the abandoned house which the Hohou teacher had used as a base for his smuggling activities.

_  
And if he's keeping it under the radar, not everyone might pick it up. I have to find out who he's attacking and get them out of there!_

As the world blurred past his senses, he felt something else rocket through him, almost causing him to stop dead with horror and fright.

Kidou. An attack. A repulsion. And a reiatsu that stood out more than any other.

_Hadou no Ichi. Shou. Dammit, Juu, what are you doing? What are you trying to achieve, attacking someone with a released zanpakutou and God knows what kind of attacks to back it up? Did he say something to make you reckless? Is it about Hirata? Or are you cornered and trying to create a path to escape?_

Something about this realisation drove his speed up even further, and he dropped down outside the empty house just in time to see the back wall blast open, the edges of the jagged hole crackling with dancing white energy. Muttering curses under his breath, Shunsui hastened forward into the property, stopping dead in the doorway of the chamber as he registered the scene.

Seimaru stood tall, his amber-tinted blade glittering eerily with demonic light as he swung it idly front of his body, sweeping away the lingering traces of the flare of Byakurai that he had obviously just diverted towards the far wall of the chamber. He seemed relaxed, almost amused by his choice of opponent, yet there was the faint smudge of contact on his fine clothing, and Shunsui realised with a jolt that Juushirou's _Shou_ had been to push the nobleman bodily away - just as he had repelled Onoe in the school grounds.

But Onoe and Seimaru were not the same kind of opponents, and already Shunsui could tell that Juushirou was breathing heavily, tell-tale white flickers of electricity dancing across his finger tips. He had not even turned at Shunsui's arrival, and Seimaru's gaze darted lazily across towards him, a faint smile touching his lips.

"And now I've snared another, have I?" He murmured. "Well, Tokutarou's brother, isn't it? Kyouraku Shunsui-dono. It's my pleasure, Shunsui-dono. I don't believe I've seen you in some time."

"Believe me, it might be your pleasure but it isn't mine." Shunsui stepped properly into the room. "Juu, what the hell are you playing at? We had an agreement, didn't we? No touching this guy. He's crazy and armed with a sword neither one of us have any way of taking out. What are you doing firing Kidou at him?"

At his words, Juushirou started, turning as if seeing him for the first time.

"Shunsui?"

"Yes, Shunsui." Shunsui strode across the room, thwapping his classmate across the back of the head. "Wake up and get a grip, will you? Do you realise where you are and what you're doing? If you get killed, Hirata will cry. Do you want that to happen?"

"Ukitake and I had something we needed to discuss." Seimaru swung his sword once more, the tip glittering ominously with a flicker of flame-like energy. "Apparently he wanted to tell me that I was weak, and I decided to prove how wrong he was. You might have more sense, being born of a decent class of society. You'll know, after all, that a slight against a noble from a District ingrate is intolerable disrespect."

"If Juu said that, it's probably because it's true." Shunsui said simply. "He's smart like that - he sees and says things as they are. Though he could have a better sense of timing."

He turned, glaring at his companion pointedly.

"In any case, I think District One would rather nobody blew up bits of their towns, so he and I will leave you alone. We didn't come here to see you, after all. We came to find someone else."

"Hirata will come here, you know." Seimaru stepped towards them, his gaze flitting from Juushirou to Shunsui. "He'll be twice as anxious, now he's felt me release Yojinmozu, and if he's got any wits about him, Ukitake's feeble Kidou attacks will have alerted him in just the way I expected. He seems to be very protective of his District friend, after all - I think he'd do anything I asked him in return for that boy's life."

He raised Yojinmozu, jabbing it in Juushirou's direction, and stopping it a mere inch from the boy's throat. Juushirou did not flinch, however, merely meeting Seimaru's challenging gaze with an angry one of his own.

"It would be easy to kill you now." Seimaru reflected. "Your insolence is making my sword impatient for blood, and I am already sorely tried by my cousin's attempts at independent thinking. I'm sorry, Shunsui-dono."

He glanced at Shunsui.

"I have no real wish to fight with someone who is my political equal - but I have no intention of letting you take the District boy anywhere."

"Then I'm the one who's also sorry." Shunsui said evenly. "Because I don't intend on leaving here without him. And you'll have to explain to my brother, won't you, if anything should happen to me in the meantime?"

"I'm not afraid of Tokutarou." Seimaru dismissed this with a scornful shrug. "My father never acknowledged him as head of District Eight, and I don't care to enter into such things either. Besides, it seems like even justice to me. Your brother has caused me considerable inconvenience in the past few weeks - allowing my absentee fiancee to travel unmolested through his lands, and providing food and shelter for rebels and dissidents from District Seven."

"Runaway fiancee?" Shunsui feigned ignorance, eying him in pretend surprise. "There's a scandal you surely don't want aired outside of your home territories? Besides, surely you know that the Kyouraku have no alliance with the Shihouin either. There's no reason for my brother to get involved in a domestic that's none of his business."

"_You _might be ignorant of it, having been exiled here like you have." Seimaru lowered his blade, eying Shunsui pensively. "Or perhaps because your interests pertain to women and drink more than the social hierarchy in which we live. I've heard, after all, considerable stories of your exploits - and I realise you are Tokutarou's heir in name alone...your will and interest in the position are entirely lacking and it shows in your actions. So in that respect, I'm unsurprised at your ignorance. Even so, though, the fact remains. Whether the Kyouraku and Shihouin are allied or not seems to be immaterial. Either way, I have significant reason to believe that Midori came through District Eight - and that she came here, to this house, to commit a heinous act against an upstanding Hohou instructor in Genryuusai-sama's trust."

Shunsui chuckled.

"I'd heard the Endou had a knack for twisting the facts to fit their story, but I didn't realise you'd taken it up too, Seimaru-dono." He reflected, his tones far more casual than he felt as his gaze darted from the other noble to the blade in that man's hand. "But even if I am more interested in life's pleasures, as you say...I know enough to know that the Kyouraku's allied Clan is the Shiba-ke. Not the Shihouin-ke. And that Tokutarou-nii is quite particular about_ anyone_ trespassing through his land unannounced."

His eyes narrowed.

"Which makes me wonder by what path you arrived here, since it's a long distance to come to District One from Seven without setting foot in Eight."

"Perhaps it is, but that's no concern of yours since neither one of us are in District Eight now." Seimaru said frankly. "As for Tokutarou-dono, there's no reason for me to pander to him. District Eight has made it perfectly clear that it has no interest in allying with us in any regard. The borders are locked up as tightly as possible against anyone affiliated with my Clan - common sense should tell you that it would be impossible for me to trespass there, unless District Eight's security was lax. I can't imagine that to be the case - can you?"

He flicked the sword back, a fireball of energy flaring out towards the two boys, and Shunsui instinctively raised his hand to block it.

"_Hadou no sanjuu ichi - Shakkahou_." He muttered, as his blaze of red fire met and melted into Seimaru's eerie amber flame, the two of them flaring and then fading into nothing more than spectral ash. "This is stupid. You've released your sword, yet you're not even_ trying _to attack us. You're just trying to stall till Hirata gets here, aren't you? And we're not going to be any part of your plan. We know, after all, what you've done."

"You think you know something about me?" Seimaru snorted, shaking his head. "You, the irreverent drunk who shamed his Clan so much he was sent away?"

Shunsui offered him a slight smile.

"There you go again, making assumptions." He said softly. "But even if you see me that way, I'm not quite the fool you think I am. I may have had some...more colourful moments in my social history, and I'm not afraid to admit to it. But despite that, my braincells do work. And they're not inebriated at present. So they're working rather well. From Megumi to Sensei, we know it all. So you ought to think again before behaving so recklessly inside District One."

"Megumi too?" Seimaru raised an eyebrow, then he laughed. "Yes, I can see that someone like you would have an interest in a girl like her. I suppose I deprived you of a plaything, then, when she was removed? But her death was of little consequence to anyone else. A common town whore who couldn't keep her mouth shut and who became too demanding for money and for drugs. Silencing her was the only option left. Nobody mourns her - except, maybe, the clients she left behind."

"Megumi was alive, and you killed her." Shunsui said coldly. "One death is the same as another to me, even if it isn't to you. You caused her pain, Seimaru. You frightened her. And you took her out of this world without a second thought. More than Midori-sama killing Aitori, I find that unforgivable."

"Were you in love with her, then, after all? Your personal courtesan, perhaps?" Seimaru looked interested. "In that case, my apologies. But I'm sure there are plenty of others. She was tainted anyway. You can do better, considering the kind of gold your Clan have to play with."

"She wasn't any such thing." Shunsui shook his head. "She was a friend. She had a life. She was real. You changed that. It has nothing to do with what her life was like or what your aims were. You took her life because you wanted to. That's what I object to."

"Because I could." Seimaru shrugged. "And even if you ran out into the streets now and proclaimed it, nobody would do anything about it. Nobody would challenge me for killing a mere town wench that had no family or connections. You know it as well as I do."

Shunsui's eyes darkened.

"Yes. I know." He muttered. "And it's what I hate about the Clans most of all."

"Even so, the truth is that you know nothing at all, Shunsui-dono." Seimaru continued. "Not even the surface of it. You wouldn't face me like that if you did. Neither one of you would."

"_I _know more than you think." Juushirou, who had remained silent through the noble's spar of words spoke up at that moment, anger still glittering in his hazel eyes. "About your work with Aitori-sensei and your involvement in smuggling and trying to kill Sensei. Even if you hurt Shunsui or you hurt me - or even if you hurt Hirata. There is still proof against you. I know, because I've _seen_ it. A letter you sent to Aitori-sensei before he died. A letter he didn't have time to destroy. A letter that could bring your Clan down around you, and see you facing the Council in a far worse way than any of the Shihouin-ke will. You're not as clever as all that, Seimaru."

"Juu?" Shunsui stared at his friend, startled and somewhat unnerved by the resolute hardness in the boy's voice. Juushirou's tones were somewhat hoarse and broken from the effort of his Kidou attacks, yet it was the note of suppressed anger and hatred that really struck through him, making the other boy seem for an instant a total stranger from the normal, genial schoolboy who reached out to everyone as his friend.

_So Juu has this side, too. The side he used against Onoe, no doubt. The side that keeps him strong and fighting, even when he's in pain._

Shunsui's eyes narrowed, taking in the faint prickles of electricity piercing through his companion's aura.

_And that's a new development. Come to think of it, it was Byakurai he fired when I got here, wasn't it? I saw the energy still brushing his fingers, and there's no doubt in my mind. We've not been taught Byakurai. Why would he fire that, instead of an attack he knew fully? Unless it came instinctively. Like my shunpo, unless it was lurking there under the surface waiting for a time when he was in trouble enough to need to use it._

_  
_"Proof?"

For the first time, Seimaru looked taken aback, then he frowned, a dangerous glint entering his pale eyes.

"You shouldn't have told me that, if you wanted your friends to live." He said darkly. "Because it only means I'll kill you both and then hunt down that evidence, person by person and piece by piece until I find it. I don't leave loose ends uncovered, so I will find it."

"No. You won't." Juushirou said matter-of-factly. "Because it.s somewhere you can't find it. And won't find it. And no matter how many people you kill, you'll never find it. Not before the people who can use it will. Because you're weak, Seimaru-sama. I told you already. Because you're scared of people taking your position, you've made mistakes. You started by killing Megumi-san. And no matter what you do to us, you'll still have to pay for that. Karma comes around, after all. Even if you kill everyone in District One, you will _not_ find that letter!"

Shunsui's eyes widened at this, and he bit his lip, clamping his hands over Juushirou's mouth and pulling him back against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot? Get a grip on yourself, will you?" He hissed. "I know you're angry, but even so...you're antagonising someone who doesn't need any excuse to hurt people. Stop and think before you speak for a while, huh? Let me handle him."

"Get off me." Juushirou wrestled himself free. "I'm only saying things that are true, Shunsui. You know it as well as I do!"

"And I know that I've not seen that look in your eye before, but I don't think I like it." Shunsui snapped back. "It's reckless and hot-headed and full of Kuchiki pride bubbling to the surface from some deep deep reserve inside of you that even I didn't know was there. Your whole aura is prickling with lightning and you're sounding totally unlike yourself. Cool down and think for a moment, okay? You're helping nothing like this!"

"At least one of you has sense. But it's still too late." Seimaru said softly, raising his blade once more. "That last blast was a tiny whisper of what this sword can do. You were right, Shunsui-dono. I had no intent behind that attack. But the next one won't be so easy to dodge."

He cast Juushirou a derisive look.

"Hirata's faith seems wasted, if all you're good for is feeble spells and useless rhetoric." He reflected. "So you can be the first. I'll treat you to Yojinmozu's special magic - and you'll realise just how much fire you're playing with. Literally in fact."

He swung back his weapon, light glimmering around the whole blade as the reiatsu began to swell and gather against the hard metal surface. Then, with a flick of his wrist he cast the weapon towards Juushirou's body, the fire blazing across the chamber like a speeding bullet from a gun.

"_Chi ni, juso o_." He murmured. "_Kouen Kougeki_."

At his words, the blast of light glimmered with an odd reddish sheen, and as Juushirou stared at it, momentarily frozen, Shunsui acted, pushing his friend behind him as he raised his hands to counter the blast.

"_Shakka hou_!" He exclaimed, red light flaring once more from his fingers, but Yojinmozu's blast cannoned straight into it, consuming it into its own blazing trail. Warmth seared Shunsui's fingers, and he closed his eyes, instinctively flaring his own reiatsu to protect his and Juushirou's bodies as best he could from the taint of Seimaru's strange cursed fire.

For a moment the blow seemed to burn right through his fingers, casting heat through his entire body. Then, as his reiatsu flared again, it faded and disintegrated, the attack falling away as nothing more than dust.

"Shunsui!" This seemed to bring Juushirou back to himself, and he grasped hold of his friend's arm, eying him in alarm. "Are you all right?"

"It only grazed me." Shunsui nodded. "I'm fine. But you're an idiot. You know that, right? Getting into a fight like this that you can't win."

"I'm sorry." Juushirou was suddenly penitent, the spectre of the Kuchiki-ke gone from his countenance, and Shunsui sighed.

"It's all right. Let's worry about that if and when we get back to school." He said frankly.

"I already told you you weren't going back to school." Seimaru said blackly, lifting his sword once more. "You may have blocked the last one, Shunsui-dono, but you'll regret having done so. Only a fool comes so close to my flame. Fools who usually end up dead."

His eyes narrowed.

"You'll realise soon enough." He murmured. "Why it is that you're going to burn to death under my watchful gaze."

* * *

_**Author's note: Seimaru's Zanpakutou**_.  
_Yojinmozu _余燼鵙 _means 'Smouldering Ember Shrike', hence the title of the chapter. I decided that the Endou-ke would all have_ zanpakutou _spirits that resemble birds in some way or other. Although Seimaru's is the first to be actually revealed like this, his Grandfather and Grandmother's zanpakutou spirits are also hunting birds (as would Hirata's be, if Hirata had a zanpakutou to wield!)_

_A shrike is also known as a butcher bird - a predator who catches small rodents and impales them on bushes as a sort of larder. This seemed to me to be in keeping with the kind of tormenting, torturing spirit Seimaru is, so I chose that as his bird of choice._

_Each Endou sword also has a different element. Yojinmozu's is fire. Although it is a very specific kind of fire - as will be made clearer, probably, in the next chapter or so :)_

_**Seimaru's Commands:**__  
Subete o moyase _全てを燃やせ_ means "Burn everything"  
Chi ni juso o _血に呪詛を　_means "A curse on blood"  
Kouen Kougeki _紅炎攻撃　_means "Red Flame Attack"_

_The significance will also become clear in the next chapters. Juso is quite an old Japanese word, apparently, because even my Japanese teacher (who is Japanese) didn't know it, but it's used lavishly throughout HaruToki so I know it's a real term...period wise it seemed appropriate to use it for Seimaru's sword!_


	36. Hellfire

**Chapter Thirty Five: Hellfire**

"That's about far enough, Seimaru."

As Seimaru's blade gleamed once more with energy, there was a voice from the window and Seimaru turned, his eyes narrowing, and Juushirou let out a little gasp as he made out the slim form of a woman against the dropping light of the evening sun. She was a stranger to him, and yet somehow he felt certain that they had met before. Her colouring was dark, like Kai's, and as she turned to glance at him, Juushirou caught the gleaming golden eyes and he bit his lip in realisation.  
_  
Shihouin Midori-sama. Even though the last time I saw her, she was a cat - somehow I know that's who she is. Midori-sama's come back here...but why? Does she hate Seimaru that much?_

"Midori." Seimaru said flatly, and Shunsui's eyes narrowed.

"So_ that's _Kai's sister, huh?" He murmured softly to Juushirou, and his companion nodded almost imperceptably.

"I guess so." He murmured back, his tones as quiet as he could keep them without drawing attention their way.

"I thought you met her already?"

"Yes...but when I did, she was the Shadow Cat. I haven't seen her this way before."

"Pity." Shunsui pursed his lips. "She really _is_ as pretty as the stories say, after all."

"Shunsui! It's not the time for that kind of thought!" Juushirou stared at him, and Shunsui grinned at him ruefully.

"I'm just saying." He responded softly. "Seimaru's a fool to have treated her the way he did, if he had a fiancee as pretty as that - no wonder he's in such a bad mood."

"_Shunsui_!"

"Shh. You've already said and done plenty for one afternoon, so pipe down." Came Shunsui's brisk reply. "I'm looking for an opportunity for us to slip out, and I can't do that if you're giving me a lecture on my morals. Time and place, Juu-kun - stop and think about them a bit, huh?"

At the sound of her name, Midori smiled, leaping neatly down into the building and bowing her head mockingly towards Seimaru.

"You remember me then." She said lightly. "Although I think you'll have to address me more appropriately from now on. After all, you're only heir to your Clan. And I now hold the sovereignty of mine."

"You?" Seimaru snorted, shaking his head. "No. Not yet. And you never will, either. You have to pass the Council's test first, after all. You have to gain their approval. And..."

"And in order to do so, I only need the votes of four Clans. Not all seven." Midori picked her way across the room, glancing at Juushirou and Shunsui for a moment, then turning her attention back to her foe. "And even discounting the hatred of the Kuchiki-ke, I think it's possible to do. I've already got the agreement of the Shiba and the Kyouraku. I don't expect to have trouble negotiating with the Unohana, which leaves me with a deficit of one. Wise Clans know that a protectorate could easily spark a civil war, and the Urahara and the Yamamoto border our land. They would not want a turbulent squabble over territory right on their doorstep, so I doubt they will contest me. That would mean only the Endou-ke standing against me - which would look suspicious, wouldn't it, given that our Clans are meant to be allies?"

Her eyes narrowed to near slits.

"Attacking trainees who don't even bear swords is a coward's act, by the way." She added, and Seimaru eyed her derisively.

"Says the woman who killed Aitori, a man who never managed to summon a _zanpakutou_, let alone fight with a sword." He said quietly, and Midori shrugged her shoulders.

"Needs must." She said dismissively. "He had betrayed his Clan, and I removed him before he could do more damage."

"And now what? You think you can use your jezebel magic and remove me, too?" Seimaru's fingers hovered over the flat of his blade, and Juushirou realised that he and Shunsui had seemingly been forgotten. "Cut out my heart with your demon blade and leave me here to pool in my blood the same way as you did him?"

"On the contrary...I didn't come here to kill you." Midori shook her head. "That would create all kinds of problems for my Clan. But I have come here to warn you. Stay away from District One and the Academy. Stay away from my kinsfolk and from Genryuusai-sama's plans to build a better Seireitei. And stay away from Hirata. He's not your tool."

"Hirata?" Seimaru's expression underwent a transformation, and Juushirou's own heart skipped a beat as he digested this. "That _runt_ was the one who called you here? What happened? Did he run to you as a surrogate big sister, cry out all his ills and beg you to come save him from his big bad cousin?"

Midori's eyes became cold and hard, and inwardly Juushirou shivered at the expression in them.

"Hirata came to me as his ally, to ask me to repay a debt owed." She said quietly, her tones dangerously low as she slipped her ornamental knife from her _obi_, running her fingers over it as she talked. "As his ally, I accepted his request and rode here to assist."

"To repay a debt?" Seimaru looked suspicious. "What debt?"

"That is not your business." Midori said simply. "I just came to tell you to leave what's not yours well alone. Stay out of District One, and away from things that don't concern you."

"And if I don't?" Seimaru's words held a dangerous edge, and the weapon beneath his touch began to glitter with a sinister amber light once more, reiatsu particles gathering and coating the weapon from hilt to tip. "What will you do then?"

"Pray you don't find out." Midori's voice had lost all its warmth or teasing geniality, and Juushirou bit his lip, raising his gaze to Shunsui's. His friend's expression was equally as apprehensive, and as if she had sensed them, the girl turned.

"Juushirou, I want you and your companion to leave this place, please." She said quietly. "It won't be safe for either of you if you stay - and I do not want to cause either of you harm."

"They're not going anywhere. _Kouen Kougeki!_"

With a sweep of his right wrist, Seimaru cast the tip of his blade in the direction of the door, running it from one side to the other and flickers of flame seared up from the wood flooring, leaping and licking at the foundations of the building in a sinister haze of orange energy. Fear coursed through Juushirou's heart as he waited for it to engulf the whole building, but instead it stopped opposite the point where Yojinmozu's blade tip had also halted in midair, creating a barrier between them and freedom but yet keeping its distance from the growing tension within the room.

"I'm not in the habit of leaving loose ends." He said coldly. "The fire is under my control, and it will not spread further without my explicit command. But try and cross it at your peril - I'm not done with either of you children just yet. Especially Ukitake Juushirou of District Six."

Midori cursed, brief hesitation touching her features, and at it, Seimaru grinned.

"Now you are at a disadvantage, because you care to save their lives and I don't care at all." He said simply. "So show it to me, Midori-sama. Show me this weapon of yours - the one with which you seared out your kinsman's heart. I'd like to see just what it is that makes you so revered among your kin. What it is the Shadow Cat possesses that makes her so special to the Shihouin?"

Midori cast Juushirou and Shunsui another look, then sighed, nodding her head.

"If you make it that way, there's no choice." She said frankly, tightening her grasp on the ornamental knife, then, "But don't blame me if you regret it. I made a promise not to try to kill, after all. But when Akekage is released, it's hard to do anything otherwise."

Her gaze met Juushirou's apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Juushirou. Maybe I'll break my word after all."

"You made a promise to a _District _urchin to spare lives?" Seimaru was incredulous. "So you are just a feeble, emotional woman after all! You'll regret that in every single way possible, Midori. I promise you that right here and now. I have no intention of leaving a splinter of this place standing. And I have no intention of leaving witnesses, either."

"Midori-sama, don't worry about Juu and I." Shunsui raised his voice, even as Midori hesitated once more. "We'll be all right."

"But..." Midori frowned, staring at him in confusion, and Shunsui shook his head.

"I can use shunpo, and I will, if it gets too hot in here to handle." He said quietly. "So do whatever you need to do. We're fine. After all, even dressed like this I'm a Kyouraku too. And if Tokutarou-nii has given you his support, I'm not going to stand against you."

"Kyouraku _Shunsui_-dono." Realisation glittered in Midori's eyes, and she frowned. "If I endangered you, then I think he would be less well disposed towards me. Are you sure? At your basic level of training..."

"I can use it, and I will." Shunsui repeated frankly. "So don't worry about us. We'll be all right."

Midori's brows knitted together, but she nodded, gripping the weapon in her left hand and flipping it so the blade pointed at Seimaru.

"_That's_ it? That's your _zanpakutou_?" Seimaru's eyes widened, then he let out a derisive laugh. "With that tiny thing you killed Aitori? The man was more pathetic than I thought, then, to succumb to such an insignificant weapon! I can barely feel even a flicker of reiatsu - are you seriously thinking that thing can combat Yojinmozu's flame?"

Midori did not respond, merely narrowing her eyes as she tightened her hold on the knife.

"_Nagare__, __Akekage_." She whispered, and Juushirou's heart almost stilled in his chest as he felt the dark surge of reiatsu swell through the room, engulfing Midori's slim, taut body in a sudden flare of power. As it did so, the weapon in her hand drew into a long, needle-pointed rapier, the blade the colour of blood and the elliptical guard as black as the soot that now framed the chamber's only exit.

Seimaru eyed it for a moment, then he nodded, a faint smile touching his lips.

"I see." He murmured. "Now I see it's true form, it does seem a suitable instrument for an assassin to carry."

Midori shrugged.

"Not all of my kin are so ruthlessly equipped, but it just so happens that my blade likes blood." She said matter-of-factly. "He cries out for it, when he's released, and I find it difficult to hold him back. He took Aitori because I ordered him to, but he was hungry for it as well. He's baying for your blood now too, Seimaru. For your treatment of the Shihouin-ke and for your attempts to snare my brother into your schemes. He has pride, my Blood Red Shadow. And he believes in avenging that pride with the promise of death."

"A pity for you, then, that I'm not Aitori." Seimaru sneered, flicking his weapon idly and a ball of flame seared from the tip, flaring and then disappearing inches from Juushirou's head. "And that you have a soft spot for helpless children who you can't possibly protect."

He smiled derisively.

"You seem oblivious to the fact that my family did nothing to yours that yours did not ask for." He added darkly, taking a step towards her as his weapon glittered with sparks of amber light. "_Your _Clan did the illicit research. _Your_ Uncle signed the agreement papers. _Your _people endorsed everything. They are to blame, not me, for the fall of your Clan. They are the ones, not me, who will face the Council and lose their lives. My only sadness is that you interfered. You slipped my net and got wind of it before I could bring it to fruition. I hate women who do that. I hate women who think they know everything and can make decisions for the men!"

"Like your Grandmother, perhaps?" Midori's expression became one of annoyance. "The matriarch of Seireitei-wide fame who holds the honour of your family close to her bosom? If she knew you were here, like this, she'd smite your head from your shoulders and trample you in your own blood. She would not tolerate your scheming and power play any more than any other sane woman would."

"Grandmother." Seimaru snorted. "That interfering witch is feeble and old now, and too much so to act on threats of retribution. She will not live much longer, and there are few now who will mourn her passing when she dies."

Midori frowned, then,

"Shunsui-dono, go now." She said quietly. "Before the flames get worse, before the fight gets worse. Take Juushirou and get away from this place. Hirata is waiting for you, after all."

"Hirata is?" Juushirou started at that, and Shunsui nodded his head grimly.

"Understood." He said quietly. "Come on, Juu. We're not staying around to see whether there's snacks at the interval. We came to find Hirata - leave this to Midori-sama to deal with."

With that he grasped hold of his friend's tired body more tightly, and Juushirou felt the shielding flare of the other boy's reiatsu cloaking him as they seemed to be surrounded by swirling light and time.

There was a sudden burst of warmth, and Juushirou felt a ripple of tension shoot through his companion's body. Then they were still, and he could feel the cool outside breeze against his skin.

As Shunsui loosed his grasp, he opened his eyes, tentatively glancing around him at the surroundings.

They were in the forest, he realised, beneath the branches of one of the old trees, and he sighed, flopping back on the ground.

"You say you can't do it well, but you're lying." He said softly. "You did it plenty good enough and when you wanted to, as well. It's not just by accident. You can really shunpo."

"Mm. Maybe." Shunsui hauled himself up into a sitting position, glancing at his hands with a rueful grimace. "My fingers got burnt trying to block his fireball, though - I guess my _Shakka hou_ still needs a bit of work when faced with a fire-type _zanpakutou_, huh?"

He relaxed back on the grass.

"I expected it to be as hot as hell, going through his fire barrier. I wasn't sure about it - whether it was a proper spell to keep us in or just a row of flames to dissuade us from trying, but I figured it was best to take my chances, given the situation. It wasn't necessarily easy - but thanks to his earlier attack, I knew I could block it with my reiatsu and in the end we got through all right."

"Yeah." Juushirou nodded his head. "Even if I did rather...well..."

"Overreach your common sense levels?" Shunsui eyed him fondly, and Juushirou looked sheepish. "I meant it, though. It was just like Ryuu-kun when he's indignant and on his high horse about something. It's there, isn't it? Somewhere inside of you. That Kuchiki pride."

"I don't know." Juushirou admitted. "Honestly, till you came in I wasn't really thinking about anything that clearly. And my Kuchiki blood is really dilute, after all."

"But your sense of justice isn't." Shunsui pointed out. "And that's what it was this time around."

He grinned.

"You sound a little hoarse, and that's to be expected I suppose, given the last couple of days. But otherwise, are you all right? Did he hurt you at all?"

No." Juushirou reddened. "But that's probably thanks to you and Midori-sama more than my defence techniques. I'm okay, Shunsui. Just feeling a little foolish - that's all."

"Ah well. We all have our moments." Shunsui said easily. "We got out, so it's fine. We lived to tell the tale - or not, as it will probably turn out in the end. Clan is irritating like that, after all."

"I wasn't expecting Midori-sama to intervene like that." Juushirou reflected. "Or to come back here. Or..."

"Hirata brought her." Shunsui said softly, and Juushirou bit his lip.

"You really think so, huh? What she said - what Seimaru said - that Hirata really did...?"

"That's where he's been." Shunsui nodded his head. "There's no other explanation. Hirata went to District Two to get Midori to deal with Seimaru. _That's_ why we couldn't find him. He wasn't in District One at all."

"But that...is that..." Juushirou faltered. "To go all that way...alone?"

"I didn't have any choice, Ukitake-kun."

Hirata's voice cut through their discussion, and Juushirou turned, staring at the newcomer with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

Stood before him was not the bespectacled, school_ kimono_-clad student he was used to seeing trailing around after him, but a young Clansman robed in the brown and gold silk of a noble son, the emblem of the Endou around his throat and his thick dark hair loose across his shoulders.

"_H...Hirata_?!"

At his friend's incredulous stare, Hirata frowned, reaching up absently to touch his face, then offering a faint smile.

"My glasses are still at the school, but I can see enough to know who's there." He added slowly. "And I can feel you both in any case. Did you come looking for me, Ukitake-kun? I'm sorry I worried you. I just didn't know what else to do."

"So long as you're safe, that's the most important thing." Juushirou recovered himself, shooting his friend a relieved smile. "Going to get Midori-sama was a bit extreme, though. Wasn't it?"

"No." Hirata looked troubled, sinking down on the grass opposite and folding his hands in his lap. "Seimaru told me that if I didn't take his evil potion and use it to poison Sensei, he'd kill you, then any other friends I had, then me. But I wasn't going to hurt Sensei, either. And the potion he made..."

He grimaced.

"Whoever made it, it was _reidoku_ strong enough to kill anyone with even half Sensei's _reiryoku_." He said grimly. "So I destroyed it. I had to. And ran for help."

"So_ you_ were the one protecting Juu this time. Not me." Shunsui reflected, and Hirata reddened, nodding his head.

"I'm sorry." He said contritely. "I know you hate that, Ukitake-kun. But I really didn't see any other way around it. Midori-sama was the only option. And she came...she listened. She really is my ally...and I trust her to set things right."

"If she kills him, it'll create more trouble for her Clan." Juushirou reflected, and Hirata nodded.

"It might. It might not." He admitted. "It would solve another lot of problems, I think, if she did."

"Hirata?" Juushirou eyed him uncertainly, and Hirata shook his head.

"I can't go home, now." He said matter-of-factly, though his voice shook slightly as he spoke. "I daren't go home, not if Seimaru survives his fight with Midori-sama and is able to return to District Seven. I'm not safe there now I've openly aligned myself with the Shihouin and with the woman who abandoned her betrothal agreement to my cousin. I don't know what I'll do, but I can't risk putting the rest of my family in danger, so I guess I'll just have to make do. But if Seimaru were dead...Father would be Grandfather's heir. And then..."

"It'd be safe for you to go home." Shunsui sighed. "Even so, though..."

"I know. It's wrong to want someone to die." Hirata looked distressed. "But you have to realise, Kyouraku-kun...that the Endou-ke would be a much better place if he did. And the people in District Seven would be better off, too. Grandfather is cruel and judgmental, but Seimaru is worse."

"So you and Midori-sama rode here? Alone? Today?" Juushirou asked, and Hirata shook his head.

"No. I mean yes, we rode here, but...not alone, exactly."

"I was with them too, Ukitake-san." Saku emerged from the trees at that point, and Shunsui's eyes widened, consternation touching his expression as he stared at her.

"_Saku_!"

"Good evening, Shunsui-sama." Saku bowed her head towards him, and Shunsui frowned.

"Stop it." He ordered. "You don't call me '-sama' and I won't accept it from you. No matter what's happened or how many light years now exist between us...I won't have it. I'm Shunsui, and that's all. Shunsui-kun, if you want. But not '-sama'. Save that for your noble acquaintances and leave me out of it."

Saku frowned, shaking her head.

"I am a serving girl, you are a lord's heir." She said quietly. "That is who we are, Shunsui-sama. It's who we've always been, even when we were children. I'm just reverting to that situation, that's all. The light years between us dictate it."

"Perhaps you think so, but I don't. And I've told you, I won't have you call me '-sama'." Shunsui snapped back. "I..."

He faltered, his hand going suddenly to his chest, and he swallowed hard, a strange look flitting across his dark eyes.

"Shunsui?" At the flicker in his reiatsu, Juushirou was immediately alert, and Hirata frowned, casting the older boy a startled look.

"Kyouraku-kun, are you all right?" He whispered, and Shunsui swallowed again, taking a shaky breath into his lungs.

"Suddenly...something..." He murmured, shaking his head as if to clear it. "No. I'm fine. It's all right. I just did far too much shunpo in one day chasing after Juu - that's all. And then to have _Saku _thrown on top of me, as well..."

He eyed Saku ruefully.

"If you'll pardon the choice of words."

Saku frowned, shaking her head and turning her attention to Hirata.

"Midori-sama said that we should leave here and head for the school as soon as it was clear to do so." She said softly. "We should do as she instructed, Hirata-sama. Then she won't be worrying about any of us."

"That seems a good idea to me too." Shunsui admitted. "Midori-dono's not someone you'd mess with in a rage, and I imagine she can take Seimaru down a peg or two now she's not got distractions to deal with. Are you sure you can walk okay, Juu? You were acting like a possessed loon in there, firing Byakurai at him and everything, so it's hard to be sure."

"I didn't realise how angry I could get until then." Juushirou acknowledged. "But I told you, I'm fine now. It was just that he's the one who's caused all the problems. For Shihouin-kun. Onoe-kun. Hirata-kun. Megumi-san. The Shihouin-ke as a whole. A whole lot of people. And it made me cross all of a sudden - that he thought he had the right to treat people like that."

"Do you really have proof about his arrangement with Aitori?" Shunsui asked curiously, and Hirata's eyes widened.

"Ukitake-kun!" He exclaimed, and Juushirou winced, biting his lip.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that either." He said contritely. "I'm sorry, Hirata-kun."

"So it's _Hirata_ who has the proof." Shunsui eyed Hirata pensively, and Hirata nodded, looking troubled.

"Does _Seimaru _know that?" He whispered, and Juushirou shook his head emphatically.

"No. Not at all. I might have got carried away, telling him that it existed. But I didn't tell him who had it or where it was. Truth be told, I don't know that myself. You're the only one who does."

"Mm." Hirata sighed. "That's true."

"I'm sorry, Hirata-kun."

"It's all right. As it happens, I told Midori-sama about it too." Hirata admitted. "And Etsuo-san, of course."

"If you have proof against Seimaru, I'm guessing it's proof that implicates your Clan as a whole?" Shunsui asked softly, and Hirata nodded.

"Then that explains a lot. Particularly why Juu got so hot about finding Midori-dono and talking to her in person." Shunsui reflected. "More pieces of the puzzle fall into place."

He coughed, taking a deep breath, then, "Well? Are we going to walk back then? I don't know what Yama-jii will say to you, Hirata - or to Saku being with us - but even so, it's probably the safest place to be while there's a fight on."

* * *

"So it looks like it's between you and I, now, finally."

Back in Aitori's abandoned house, Midori turned her attention back to Seimaru, eying him coldly as she took a pace towards him. "Which is how I intended it to be when I came back here. And I'll say it again. Go back to District Seven. Leave District One alone. And leave Hirata and his Academy alone, too."

"Why should I even begin to listen to your orders?" Seimaru snorted, tapping the blade of his sword idly against his hand as sparks flew from the end. "You're not an acknowledged head of the Clan yet. More, you're a woman. Just because your Clan feel that women should be considered and revered, not all of us pander to that foolishness. No woman who's ever defied me in any way has lived to tell the tale."

His eyes narrowed.

"And I consider it a slight, when my fiancee slips my attention and flees into enemy territory. You were working with the Kyouraku after all, weren't you? If he's acknowledged you, then you and he have been plotting behind my back - and that could be cause for war."

"No. There's been no plotting." Midori shook her head. "Kyouraku Tokutarou is too sensible an individual to involve himself with our petty fight, after all. He's only given me his support because he wants to avoid a protectorate. That's all. It has nothing to do with sentiment or whispered pacts behind closed doors. I'm sure I'm as unwelcome in District Eight now as I was before."

She smiled slightly.

"When I crossed his land, I crossed it as the Shadow Cat." She said evenly. "You've learnt a little, evidently, of what that means since last we spoke - perhaps my killing Aitori made you notice that I'm not an average Clan hime that you can subjugate to your will. In that form, nobody can find me unless I want to be found. That's how I slipped his and your attention. He aided me none - in fact, I think he was quite cross at my temerity."

She eyed him pensively, feeling Akekage's spirit flicker beneath her grip.

"Are you going to fight me with that firesword of yours, then, Seimaru? Is that how you want to settle this, blood on blood?"

"I told you once. I don't care about killing you, and when I have, those children too." Seimaru said flatly. "I don't have your woman's sentiment, and that will hold you back. You Shihouin believe in keeping your word, don't you? Oaths and bonds and promises are written in blood. So I have nothing to fear from your weapon. If it's a killing sword, and you can't kill me, you have no way to..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Midori leapt forward, sweeping Akekage down across the back of Seimaru's right hand. As the blood-red tip pierced through the skin, she rested her free hand on his shoulder, using it to propel herself up and onto one of the roof beams that hung low overhead.

"What the hell was that?" Seimaru exclaimed, clasping at his hand angrily as he glared up at her. "Are we playing children's tag now, or is that an attack?"

"Akekage's poison kills if it pierces the heart." Midori shuffled closer to the edge of the beam, sizing up her opponent carefully. "But a graze on the arm or hand can do its damage, too. You'll find your fingers move more slowly, Seimaru - I wonder if you can hold that weapon still with your hand dripping poisoned blood?"

"It doesn't matter to me which hand I use to slit your throat." Seimaru growled, tossing his weapon from his right hand into his left and flicking the blade towards her so that a ball of fire flowed from the tip, engulfing the wood of the beam as it made contact. "And if I have to smoke you out, I'll do so."

"Ambidextrous, huh?" Midori leapt gracefully from the burning beam to the next on, Akekage glittering with red light as she raised it once more. "I'm impressed. I didn't realise you had such a useful skill."

"In the Endou-ke, pain and injury aren't seen as a barrier to victory." Seimaru snapped back, and Midori could see his right hand twitch slightly as the poison began to take effect. "I've fought with broken fingers before. I've trained with them. It's part of how we fight. Of course I'd be able to use both hands. That's just common sense."

"It's ironic, hearing an Endou talk about common sense." Midori held her hand over the blade of her sword, allowing her own Kidou to mingle with the sparks glittering from the blade. "But I have some tricks of my own too. _Hadou no Sanjuu Ichi - Shakka hou_!"

"Basic Kidou?" Seimaru demanded, darting out of the way of the glimmering flare that shot down towards him, and Midori shook her head, tilting her weapon from left to right as the blast divided into two, sweeping around and heading back towards its target.

"Like you control flame, with a little help from Akekage, my Kidou's very obliging." She said softly, as Seimaru cursed, raising his weapon to slice through the powerful cannons. "So can we stop this silly fight already, and come to an agreement? Odious as I find your company, I don't want to end this with your blood spilled here. If you leave, it won't be. If you give your Clan's word..."

"You are not someone I bargain with!" Seimaru exclaimed, sending a second and a third volley of flame up towards the roof of the house, and as the tips of her hair became singed, Midori cursed, slipping into shunpo and reappearing on the windowsill.

"At this rate you'll bring the whole house down around us both." She scolded. "I'm sure I can shunpo out of here - but what about you, master of the firesword?"

"My fire won't hurt me, so I'm not afraid." Seimaru said simply. He glanced at his weapon, shaking his head slowly.

"If I'd waited, I could've at least unleashed my curse on you, too." He murmured. "But as it is, I can only use that once in a release. And I didn't know you were coming."

"Your curse?" Midori stared at him, suddenly disconcerted, and Seimaru's lips twitched into an ominous smile as he nodded his head.

"Oh yes. Your precious children may have escaped, but I left them a parting gift." He murmured, stroking the edge of his weapon with his injured hand, and at Midori's disgust, the blade cut through his flesh, dripping blood onto the blade. "My fire burns a lot of things. Some you can see. Some you can't. You might think they got away - but I'll guarantee that you're wrong."

He glanced at his bloody fingers.

"It seems your sword's poison acts as an anaesthetic after a while." He added. "Any discomfort you caused me has gone...the point of that attack was what again?"

"What did you do to those children?"

Anger flooding through her body, Midori launched herself bodily from her perch, reaching for Seimaru's throat and as she made contact with him, the two fell to the floor, Midori pinning her fiancee beneath her as his sword clattered from his grip.

"Tell me now, Seimaru, else I might be forced to do more harm with Akekage - and it won't be such a pleasurable experience for you this time around."

"Hot tempered outbursts are not attractive in a woman, you know." Seimaru's eyes narrowed, and he twitched the fingers of his left hand. "_Bakudou no Ichi, Shou_."

As the flare of reiatsu shot out from his body, Midori slipped into shunpo, re-materialising on the one remaining ceiling beam.

"I thought Kidou wasn't your style." She said darkly, and Seimaru shook his head.

"It isn't." He said evenly. "But everyone knows how to do that move. Even first year students at Genryuusai's precious Academy."

He laughed, amusement in his eyes. "Though that won't help them now. Not now the curse has begun to work. Nothing you do to me now can change that, after all. A cursed person is a cursed person. It's done. No matter how angry you get, you can't change it."

"What if I kill you, after all?" Midori raised her weapon, aiming the blade down towards Seimaru's chest. "I'm a good aim, you know, with weapons finer than this one. If I will it, Akekage won't miss. If I kill you with his poison, there'll be nothing to trace it back to me. You shouldn't underestimate me - tell me what you did to them, or else I will show you how good my aim really is."

"Even if you killed me, the result is the same." Seimaru told her smugly, and Midori felt her anger and apprehension boiling inside of her. "Once the curse is cast, anyone who touches a cursed flame is doomed to burn until they die. That's the nature of Yojinmozu's flame, Midori-dono. The ability to consume someone from the inside with flames that burn hotter than hell."

"_What_?" Midori's eyes widened in alarm, then, "You cast a thing like that on a student? A boy who doesn't even hold a sword...why would you do something like that?"

"Because I can." Seimaru shrugged. "Why are you so worried? It's not your problem. It's not your precious brother Kai, after all. Why do you care about them at all? The Shihouin have enough problems, don't they? Why waste energy on people who aren't any of your concern?"

"Why, you..." Midori's eyes narrowed, her grip on her blade tightening. "For that, I won't let you off lightly!"

She reached her hand back, launching her weapon across the chamber with a thrust of her spiritual energy.

"_Bakudou no Hachi. Seki!_"

A fresh voice cut through the haze of the conflict, as Akekage faltered in midair, falling dead to the ground and in the flicker of flames Midori was just aware of the faint sheen of a barrier separating her from Seimaru.

"What the?" Seimaru was equally confused, and as Midori gazed down from her perch, she saw the spell-caster, his body framed in the glow of Seimaru's fire.

"Enough." He rumbled, his gaze steely as he gazed between them. "This is not the kind of place for such things to occur."

Midori's heart stilled in her chest.

"Ge...Genryuusai-sama?" She whispered, and the old man raised his head to her, meeting her gaze for a moment.

"Shihouin Midori." He murmured. "And Endou Seimaru. Would you mind explaining to me what the meaning of this disturbance is?"

"Since that mad witch attacked me, you can ask her." Seimaru said frankly, gesturing in Midori's direction. "You saw it for yourself, Genryuusai-sama. She intended my assassination."

"I do not like lies." Genryuusai glowered at him. "You use flames, like I do, but your fire is dirty and dishonourable. Even if the scene didn't show it, I would be able to read it in your reiatsu. You have just as much killing intent as she does, Seimaru. And this is District One land. So I will ask again. What is the meaning of this?"

Midori took a shaky breath into her lungs, struggling to compose herself, then she sighed, slipping down from the beam and bowing down before the intruder.

"I'm sorry, Genryuusai-sama." She said contritely. "I came on the request of an ally, because he felt that there was danger here."

"An ally?" Genryuusai's brows knitted together, then, "Endou Hirata?"

"Yes, sir." Midori stared at him, surprised. "Then...did you know...?"

"I had come to realise it." Genryuusai nodded his head. "That if the boy wasn't here in District One, he would have gone to a place he felt he had allies. He told me clearly once before that that was what he considered you to be. So in the end, that's what he did."

He glanced at Seimaru.

"And the danger? You, I presume, would be that?"

"I have no idea what you mean." Seimaru said haughtily, indignation in his pale eyes. "My fiancee ran away and my cousin called her to attack me. Where am I to blame in this?"

"Genryuusai-sama, he's cursed one of your students." Midori said urgently. "I don't know which one - Ukitake Juushirou, Kyouraku Shunsui - maybe even Hirata himself, I don't know. But somehow - with his sword. He told me so, that's why I..."

"Why you lost your cool and attacked him in the manner I just interrupted." Genryuusai stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Correct?"

"Y...yes sir."

"I see." Genryuusai raised his staff, gesturing in the direction of the fallen Akekage.

"Take and seal your sword, Shihouin Midori. You too, Endou Seimaru. Continuing this fight here is unforgivable under any circumstances."

He frowned.

"I wish to know on which student you have cast a curse, Seimaru. If such a thing has happened, I will consider that also hard to forgive."

"How do I know the names of random, identically dressed children?" Seimaru said dismissively. "He got in the way of my fire, that's all."

"All, you say." Genryuusai's reiatsu flared at this, and despite herself Midori quailed, feeling the heavy oppression of the old man's power seeping through her senses.

_And that's only a tiny part of it. That kind of power...that's why he's the person he is. Even like this, even old and worn, he could wipe us both out by just thinking about it. That's what Genryuusai-sama truly is. A God among Shinigami._

Seimaru did not respond, and Genryuusai nodded.

"Some of my students were foolish enough to play with Bakudou this afternoon." He murmured. "And I have been keeping careful progress of their actions since then. I am aware, Seimaru, that there are many things you have come here to do. Not least of all to dispense with me in the vain belief that by doing so you can destroy the Academy and protect the Old Order of the Clans."

He banged his cane down on the floor to emphasise his point, and Midori almost thought she saw spectral flames flickering around the base of the wooden stick as the old man kept his power tightly in check.

"You are foolish and mistaken." He continued now. "The world is changing. Whether I'm here or not, the world will continue to change. Those who don't keep up with it will disappear. No matter what you try, Seireitei's future is bigger than the life of one Shinigami."

"You have absolutely no proof to make such allegations." Seimaru flustered, and Genryuusai smiled, the kind of smile that Midori knew she did not ever want to see again.

"I have no proof." He agreed quietly. "But that doesn't stop me from knowing what is true. Listen to me, Seimaru, and listen well. If you wish to take my life, then raise your weapon and attack me face to face. I will immolate you with Ryuujinjakka and that will be the end of it. Or, if you have sense at all inside your head, choose now to retreat. You are no longer welcome inside District One - you or any of your kinsfolk."

"What kind of a..." Seimaru began, but as he caught Genryuusai's eye he faltered, his face draining of colour as he realised how serious his companion was.

"To blaze this house to the ground would be easy, but there are people in this town who do not deserve to be punished for your foolish acts." He said now. "So I will give you the chance to withdraw, this time. Heed well what I said, though. I have banished you from District One - and I will ensure you do not come back. If you dare set foot over the boundaries again, you will be dealt with by me. And then I will show you the true power of a firesword. Do you understand?"

Seimaru's lack of response indicated that he had, and Genryuusai nodded.

"Then go now." He said softly. "Before I change my mind. Releasing a _zanpakutou _without licence in an area not your own is against Council law - be glad I've chosen to show you mercy this time."

Seimaru hesitated for a moment, then he swallowed hard, gripping hold of his sword tightly as he shunpo'ed out of sight.

Once he was gone, Midori bit her lip.

"What about me?" She asked softly, and Genryuusai eyed her for a moment.

"We really must do something about your temper, it seems." He said frankly, and relief flooded through Midori's body as she realised the dark, oppressive sense had begun to lift from the chamber. The old man spread his hands, muttering something under his breath, and as Seimaru's flames flickered and died, he beckoned to her.

"I don't approve." He added. "But I understand that you came here on the request of one of my students, and on my behalf. My Clan would likely see it differently, but I will forgive you. This time."

"I'm glad you stopped me when you did." Midori admitted. "I'd have broken my promise, and I didn't want to do that."

"Yes. My timing was right, it seems." Genryuusai rubbed his beard, then, "Seimaru will not come back to District One. There is much I would like to ask him about, and no evidence with which to do it. But at the very least, he is prevented from doing more harm here. He knows now, after all, what kind of enemy he would be making for himself. And I don't think he is fool enough to call my bluff."

"Will you really bar all Endou from entering District One? Even...even Hirata?"

"Hirata...is another matter." Genryuusai frowned. "That depends on his will and his intent. Where he chooses to align himself - with the Academy and me, or with his kin in District Seven. Whichever choice he makes...I will deal with as it becomes necessary. I know, after all, that the Shihouin-ke's suffering is not all their own work. But for now, that is all I can do to even the balance."

"I sent him back to the school, with my aide Saku as company. I wanted them safe." Midori eyed the old man for a moment, then, "I must return at once to District Two. I will come back here tomorrow, but it is quicker for me to go home alone. I therefore would ask..."

"Your servant will be found a place to sleep." Genryuusai said quietly. "Since you've sent them there, I will not turn her out into the town."

"I'm sorry for my presumptuousness." Midori was contrite. "But I didn't want them caught in the flare of battle."

"No. For now, your reason is sound and I will not contest it." Genryuusai assured her. "I do not consider the girl to be a danger to my students - for the time being, I will accept her. For one night...I will acquiesce to your request."

He frowned.

"About this curse, Midori - you don't know which child or how?"

"No. Only that it happened, and he boasted about it burning them from the inside out." Midori shook her head. "He said even if I'd killed him, the curse couldn't be broken. That it would burn till the person died."

"In which case, it seems I need to find my students too." Genryuusai sighed. "And see whether or not these so called cursed flames are ones my own fire power can lift."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_  
_~To Val-sensei from Midori and Seimaru as regards their fight -for your advice __**hontou ni arigatou gozaimashita**__!  
~Yojinmozu's curse appears with a respectful nod to Ujiie Kaoru from Getbackers, from whom the idea wasn't directly taken, but from which the basic inspiration of such a thing undoubtedly penetrated my subconscious ;)_


	37. Yojinmozu's Curse

**Chapter Thirty Six: Yojinmozu's Curse**

The sun seemed to be blazing hotter than ever in the sky over their heads as the four awkward companions made their way slowly down the trackways towards the Academy's big, imposing building as it cast its shadow over the grounds that surrounded it.

Shunsui paused, wiping the sweat from his brow as he glanced up at the gleaming blue sky. The white patches of cloud that dotted the azure blanket seemed to blur and haze into one another and he bit his lip, feeling faintly giddy at the strange effect.

_It's damn hot, after all. I didn't notice it being this hot before - but I guess it is still summer, and I should know by now that __heatwaves__ aren't unusual. Even so, though, it wasn't like this when __Juu__ and I walked down. Surely towards evening it should be getting cooler, not hotter?_

"Shunsui?" Juushirou's voice startled him out of his reverie, and he turned, a sheepish look touching his dark eyes as he realised all three of his companions were staring at him, a mixture of consternation and irritation spreading across their expressions.

"Are you all right? You just stopped dead." Juushirou frowned. "Has something happened? I can't sense anything except them still fighting, but..."

"Sense anything?" Shunsui shook his head. "No, nothing like that. Sorry. I didn't mean to stop. I was just thinking how hot it was - I suppose I paused to get my breath a little, that's all."

"To get your breath?" Hirata's eyes opened wide, and Shunsui was sure he saw a flicker of alarm in the young boy's pale gaze, and he shrugged.

"Don't look so worried, Hirata-kun. I'm lazy and out of shape, which we both know is true." He said casually. "I'm not like you - I can't run across Districts by night and day in search of rescue. And I used a lot of_reiryoku_on shunpo and Kidou already this afternoon - I'm knackered, if you want the truth."

At the coarseness of his terminology, Hirata's eyes became even bigger, and Shunsui grinned.

"Sorry. I suppose that's not the right kind of word to use when a lady is present." He said apologetically, turning to bow playfully in Saku's direction. "My apologies, Saku-sama. I hope I didn't offend you?"

"Stop being foolish." Saku snapped, discomfort clear in her gaze, but as Shunsui raised his head once more, the world around him swam, and he drew breath sharply into his lungs as giddiness overwhelmed his body. For whatever reason his sense of balance seemed to have entirely deserted him, and instinctively he reached out, grabbing Saku by the arm as he fought to keep his footing.

"Shunsui-sama?!" Saku stared at him in disbelief, going to pull away, but as she touched her hand to his, she let out an exclamation, reaching out to grasp him firmly by the shoulders instead. Her formality was suddenly thrown to the wind, and she gazed at him in consternation.

"_Shunsui_!"

"Etsuo-san?" Juushirou was immediately alert. "Shunsui? What's going on? Why are you..."

"He's burning hot. His fingers...it's like touching charcoal straight from the furnace." Saku whispered, and the anxiety in her tones seemed to help pierce through the fog in Shunsui's brain.

"Hot?" That was Juushirou, fear in his own words. "As in...fever hot?"

"He did just say that he was hot." Hirata murmured, his tones troubled, and Shunsui felt fingers brush against his brow. "Maybe we should stop for a moment. If Kyouraku-kun is feeling ill..."

"I can't believe he'd be that worn out that he'd start a fever. I've never known Shunsui to be sick in all the time I've known him, and he's never been short of strength or energy if he's wanted to use it." Saku said quietly, and at this point Shunsui took another deep breath, struggling to assert himself back into the conversation.

"I'm all right. I can walk. I just came over a bit dizzy, that's all. I'm tired and it's hot - as soon as I get back to school I'll be fine."

"It's not as hot now as it was when we left, and you were fine then." Juushirou said worriedly. "Shunsui, if you're running a fever..."

"It's hotter in summer in District Eight than it is here." Saku added quietly. "Much hotter, and you used to chase me all around the woodlands and down to the lake on days that were truly blazing. This is nothing in comparison - there's no reason for you to overheat in temperatures like this."

"He did use a lot of strength getting us out of the house." Juushirou sounded guilty. "Because I was silly and got myself wrapped up in trouble."

"Sit down for a minute anyway, Kyouraku-kun." Hirata suggested softly, fumbling at his belt for his water gourd and holding it out. "Here. Take this and drink it. If you're hot and dry, it will help at least."

"But I..."

"We're stopping and you're sitting." Juushirou said firmly, and Shunsui found himself pushed down beneath the shade of an old willow tree. "So don't argue. Take Hirata's water and drink it. We'll take a break and then head on. We're a distance from the town now, in any case. There's no urgent rush."

"Except to meet our three hour curfew deadline." Shunsui pointed out, meekly taking Hirata's gourd and sipping the cool contents. Inside his body a thirst raged, yet he held back, knowing that if he drank desperately, he would only frighten his companions more.

_But something is wrong. I don't know what it is, but something is. I've never felt like this before - and __Saku's__ right. The hot weather in District __One__ is nothing compared to some of the weather we get in Eight - I shouldn't be affected by that, even if I did use __shunpo__ twice today. It's never affected me like that - which means..._

He set the gourd aside.

"I'm all right, you know. I just overheated a little...a combination of fire and shunpo and too much exercise doesn't suit me. Nothing more."

Hirata's expression became even more troubled at this, and the younger boy shuffled down beside him, casting him an anxious look.

"Kyouraku-kun, did you...did you touch the flames? Of Yojinmozu's sword - did you?"

Shunsui raised his gaze, swallowing then nodding his head.

"Only brushed it, but I guess so." He murmured, holding up his charred fingers. "Blocking his attack - but it didn't do anything more than dust my fingers."

Hirata's eyes became grave.

"I thought so." He whispered. "I thought it must be...but..."

"Hirata-kun?" Juushirou stared at his friend in apprehension. "What is it? Something has happened to Shunsui - because of that?"

Hirata pursed his lips, grasping Shunsui's wrist and running his own fingers over the faint burning marks. Although his touch was light, at the contact pain seared through Shunsui's limb and he gasped, pulling it back and shielding it protectively with his left sleeve.

"Hey! What are you trying to do - that hurt!"

He coughed, his throat spasming at the sudden outburst, and Hirata shook his head.

"Yojinmozu." He muttered. "Seimaru's _zanpakutou_...you've been touched by it, Kyouraku-kun. When you said you were hot, I wondered - but now I'm sure of it. He didn't just burn you, did he, with his flames? He cursed them too."

"Cursed them?" Shunsui raised his head at this, immediately wishing he hadn't made such a quick movement as the world swam once more before his gaze. "What do you mean, cursed them?"

"_Chi __ni __juso__ o_." Juushirou whispered, and Hirata nodded.

"Yojinmozu's shikai has two levels of attack." He said uneasily. "Flames which he can control - normal flames that lick their way up wood and across people's clothing like a proper fire would if you set light to tinder and left it to blaze. His _Kouen __Kougeki_ is that kind of attack - nothing unusual, just a normal fire attack cast by a normal fire _zanpakutou_. However..."

He frowned, and Shunsui saw the darkness in his gaze.

"Seimaru _isn't_ normal." The younger boy said bitterly. "He likes to make people suffer, and his _zanpakutou'_s spirit reflects that. If he curses his attack before he casts it, it's with the intention of killing the person who it hits."

"Kill them?" Juushirou exclamation stabbed through Shunsui's already thumping head, and he frowned, reaching up to touch his friend's arm.

"Turn the volume down when you do that? You're giving me a headache."

"I'm sorry." Juushirou bit his lip. "I just...so what does that mean? What happens now?"

"Seimaru-sama cursed Shunsui and now he's feeling the effects of that curse." Saku said softly, and Shunsui was startled by the genuine worry in her tones. She knelt down beside him, putting a hand to his forehead. "And that's why he's hot now. This fire, Hirata-sama...it burns from the inside, doesn't it? It doesn't burn clothing or wood...it burns _people_."

"Yes." Hirata whispered. "That's exactly what it does. It's a curse on his blood...the fire's infiltrated his blood stream and that's why..."

He faltered, and even through the fog of fever Shunsui was aware of tears on the young boy's lashes.

"I'm sorry, Kyouraku-kun." He murmured. "Because you came looking for me, this happened."

"No. It's _my_ fault." Juushirou said slowly, anguish in his own eyes. "The blast wasn't aimed at Shunsui. It was intended for me. He intended _me_ to be cursed. Shunsui blocked it, and pushed it away with Kidou and reiatsu. But Seimaru didn't mean to curse him at all. It's only because Shunsui was thinking more clearly than I was...that's why this happened."

"Idiot. Do you think I'd let you be fried?" Shunsui demanded, taking another swig of Hirata's water as he fought the rising panic that welled up inside of him. Somehow he had to keep calm, no matter how frightened he truly was. Somehow he had to stay nonchalant and easy - though even as that thought crossed his mind, he was aware of the prickling, stabbing pins and needles crawling up through his burnt fingers and beyond, and he swallowed hard.

"It was owed for the forest and the Hollow. Let's leave it at that." He added now, somehow managing to keep his tones level. "Well, Hirata-chan? How do you break the hex?"

Hirata shook his head.

"I don't know." He admitted helplessly. "I've never seen...No one has...Seimaru..."

He faltered, and Juushirou bit his lip.

"Every time Seimaru's used it before, the cursed person has died, hasn't he?" He murmured, and Hirata nodded.

"Yes."

"Well, that makes it interesting." Shunsui frowned, reaching up for the low-hanging branch of the tree and carefully pulling himself to his feet. "In which case, sitting around here is probably not the best idea, is it? If I'm about to catch fire, I don't want to set the whole forest alight."

"How can you make jokes when you're in that kind of state!" Saku hurried to support him as he swayed and wobbled, anxiety and frustration in her dark eyes. "Stop making a game out of serious things, Shunsui! You're sick, and you can barely stand - what do you think you're about to do?"

"Get back to school." Shunsui said frankly. "We don't know h...how to do anything about this, but if you d...don't mind, I'm not that keen on burning to death, inside or out. So...I figure...at school maybe someone will know more than we do. About curses. And h...how to break them."

"Unohana-sensei!" Juushirou exclaimed, and Shunsui nodded.

"Good place to start." He agreed hoarsely, as bars seemed to tighten around his chest and he coughed, gripping hold of the branch tightly as the shudders wracked through him. For a moment he thought that he would not be able to catch his breath, panic flooding him afresh as he struggled to draw air into his lungs, and the world swayed and twisted again, making him feel dizzy and weak.

_If only it wasn't so hot. If only I wasn't so hot. __If only..._

"Don't fight against it." Juushirou's words broke through the rising hysteria, and he felt his friend's hand between his shoulder-blades. Though Juushirou was obviously frightened too, there was something reassuring in his classmate's touch, and he clung to that thought, closing his eyes as he fought to calm down.

At length the spasm subsided, and he drew air greedily into his lungs once more.

Juushirou sighed.

"Are you going to be able to walk anywhere, like this?" He murmured. "You're the only one of us who can do shunpo, and carrying you is..."

"Maybe we should have taken one of Midori-sama's horses, after all." Hirata fretted, and Juushirou shook his head.

"Like this, he wouldn't be able to hold on. Even if he was the best rider in Seireitei, it would be dangerous." He said softly. "But that said, I don't know if he'll be able to walk the distance either. If what you says is true...how long does it take? Before this curse...how long before it...you know...spreads?"

"From the moment he touched it it was in his system." Hirata said sadly. "From then - it's difficult to say."

"Then answer another question, Hirata-kun." Shunsui managed, casting him a grim look. "How long between Seimaru cursing someone and...and them...losing their grip...on their consciousness completely?"

"Shunsui?" Saku stared at him in alarm. "Are you faint?"

Shunsui ignored her question, his gaze intent on Hirata, who frowned.

"At most, an hour." He admitted.

"And from then, how...how long till they...till it's over?"

Hirata swallowed hard.

"The longest...was three hours." He whispered. "That I know of. A prisoner...in Seimaru's dungeon...was three hours."

"Then whether I can walk isn't the issue." Shunsui made up his mind, drawing on whatever reserves of strength he still had inside him as he stood upright. "Chances are...there's only Unohana-sensei...who can do anything about me. Right? So...I need to be able...to get to her. So we'll go. Now. Enough hesitating. Let's go."

Juushirou shot him a doubtful glance, but sighed.

"If you think you can, we should." He agreed at length. "Let us help you, though, all right? Don't fall down because you're trying to act tough. We'll get you back to school, I promise. Whatever happens, we will. You took the curse for me, in the end, so I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Shunsui closed his eyes briefly, then,

"I'll make it." He said thickly. "I've made up my mind and I will. But time...time is ticking. So we need to move. Now."

* * *

"I don't know why everyone is in such a hurry to go out of the school grounds just because Sensei's lifted the embargo."

Back at the Academy, Naoko gazed out of the window of the girl's dorm, resting her chin in her hands as she watched the stream of students flowing in and out of the gates below. "It's crazy. Anyone would think they were being let out of someone's dungeon, the way people are swarming around down there."

"Well, I'm sort of glad you feel that way." Sora admitted. "Because I'd have felt guilty, had you wanted to take off out and we weren't around to tag along with you."

"Tag along with me?" Naoko stared at her for a moment, then she grinned, nodding her head.

"I don't want to know what you and Mitsuki were doing this afternoon." She said frankly, holding up her hands. "It's going to be against rules, so I don't need to know. And I really don't care about going out. There's only a common town over the brow of the hill and nowhere of interest anywhere nearby. I'm quite happy staying here."

"You really don't like District settlements, do you?" Sora looked amused, and Naoko shook her head, shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't." She said matter-of-factly. "I don't like the way they live. It's inconvenient and the way the people look at me makes me think I'm about to be set upon by beggars or something similar. So I don't like stepping out in District Four, and I have no intention of doing so here."

"You're going to make a funny healer, then, if you won't go visit people." Sora teased, and Naoko spread her hands.

"I'm not a healer. Not naturally. If I was, I probably wouldn't be sent here." She said evenly. "I'm the odd sheep of the family in that respect - Father sent me in order for me to find out what my talents were, since I have absolutely no aptitude for helping sick people at all. I don't even really like them that much. They're just a nusiance and a bother, if you want the truth."

She looked rueful.

"Mitsuki's much more that way inclined than I'll ever be - Unohana or otherwise."

"Maybe you two should switch Clans." Sora suggested, pulling her friend up from her resting place and gesturing to the door. "Come on. Let's at least go into the grounds and get some air. We don't have to get a token or go anywhere...but it's too nice out to be shut away in here."

"On the contrary, the daytime is the only time the dorm isn't inundated with that Nakamura Hanako girl and her constant complaining." Naoko sighed. "Which is another thing I don't like about the Districts, for the record."

"Hanako?" Sora looked blank, and Naoko shook her head impatiently.

"No." She said with a sigh. "The fact that they don't know anything, and protest about it constantly."

"Still sounds like Hanako to me." Sora said reflectively. "The other District kids don't seem like that. Do you think Juushirou's like that?"

"No." Naoko admitted, as Sora led the way down the hallway to the main stairs. "Ukitake-kun is something else. I don't know quite what, yet. But what does bother me is Mitsuki and how much she's getting herself involved with him. He's a nice enough person - I don't have anything against him at all. He has considerable spirit power, adequate manners and, in the end, he doesn't complain about things like Hanako does. But even so..."

"She's Clan and he isn't." Sora murmured. "And it's the same District, so it makes it more complicated."

"It does." Naoko said, her expression troubled. "I like Mitsuki, Sora. You know that. I understand how she is because I'm surrounded by people like her when I'm home, and even if she is a little strange, her heart is kind. You and she are my closest friends here, and I wouldn't want to do anything to hurt either of you, which is why I've not said anything to her. But it's starting to worry me all the more, to be truthful. That Mitsuki seems so keen on him. In a way that's beyond friendship - in a way Clan children shouldn't feel about District ones."

"It sort of worries me too." Sora admitted with a sigh, pushing back the door that led to the grounds. "But in the end, I don't think that there's much we can do about it. To speak to either of them would be mean - it would be like we were confirming that Juushirou was beneath Mitsuki, and I don't think that would be fair."

"By birth he is. By birth he always will be. Nothing can change that." Naoko said frankly, and Sora's brows knotted together.

"But would you turn against her, if she insisted on pushing forward anyway?" She demanded. Naoko sighed, shaking her head.

"No. I wouldn't." She owned. "And I don't...Ukitake-kun is different from other District boys. He has better manners and etiquette than Houjou-kun, and more sense than Kyouraku-kun. He's what you'd call a gentleman, I think - even despite his roots. And I understand why Mitsuki is attached to him. He's not a malicious or cruel person, and she's the kind of soul who flits towards kindness like a moth to a flame. Even so, though...what we think doesn't matter in the end."

"Mitsuki's father is very fond of her." Sora murmured. "But I don't think he'd indulge her falling in love with a boy from the District."

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"But at the moment Juushirou doesn't seem aware of it." She added. "So at the moment, there isn't a problem for us to worry about, Nao-chan. We just keep humouring her - and maybe, in the end, she'll snap out of it on her own."

"Shikibu-san! Shiba-san!"

As they headed out into the sunlight, a breathless voice accosted them, and the two girls turned, confusion on their features as they recognised the District girl about whom they had earlier been talking. She was running across the grass towards them, almost tripping over her feet in her haste and Naoko sighed, shaking her head in a resigned, long-suffering way.

"Nakamura-san." She said softly, her tones nonetheless forceful enough to stop the girl in her tracks. "What on earth has happened, that you're running crazily all over the place shrieking our names like that at the top of your voice?"

"I wanted to find you as quickly as possible." Hanako said frankly, faint petulance in her tones as she stopped a few feet from where Naoko stood. "I thought you'd want to know, seeing as she's your friend and all of that."

"Want to know? Our friend?" Sora blinked, then, "Hanako, has something happened to Mitsuki?"

"None of us really know what's happened to her." Hanako admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "She's having one of her odd fits – we can't make head nor tail of her, so I decided I'd come looking for one of you. You understand her Clan eccentricities better than we do, after all."

"Clan eccentricities?" Naoko was indignant, but Sora held up her hand, shaking her head.

"Where is she, Hanako?" She asked softly. "If she's upset then we'll go to her – you did the right thing, coming to find us. She didn't say anything specifically? Did she ask for us…or…?"

"She seemed giddy and faint and what she said didn't really connect together." Hanako said frankly. "She's in the common room. Come speak to her, anyway. She's making older students stare and gather around, and they already look at District students strangely. I don't want them to think that we did something to her, because if the Kuchiki-ke thought that we did…"

"All right. We're coming." Sora cut her off in mid-flow, realising that one of Hanako's legendary whines was about to rear it's head. "Thanks, Hanako. Come on, Nao-chan. If Mitsuki's upset, we need to get her out of the crowd. She'll calm down more quickly then – let's go."

Naoko sighed, but nodded, and the two girls quickened their pace, heading back inside the school building and through the corridors towards the students' social area. As they reached the door, they found it slid half open, and even as they walked towards it they could hear Ryuu's distinct and cutting tones piercing through everything else.

"I have already told you to leave my cousin alone." He was saying. "If Mitsuki is unwell, it is certainly no business of anyone else's – disperse and leave her be!"

"Kuchiki-kun!" Naoko was the first inside, and as the two girls entered the scene they saw their friend, pale and huddled in a ball beneath the window, tears glittering on her lashes as she gazed around her like a frightened, wounded animal. Several other students were gathered a short distance away, and between them and Mitsuki was Ryuu, indignation on his tired features as he stood guard over his upset cousin.

"Shikibu-san. Sora." At the sight of them, Ryuu looked relieved. "I am glad to see you. Nakamura-san seems to have moved quickly – thank you for coming so speedily."

"If Mi-chan's ill, then of course we'll come." Sora said simply, pushing through the crowd of older students with little care or attention to who she was shoving aside. "Though I didn't expect you to be here too, Kuchiki. I thought you'd exhausted yourself for one day."

"I did, but certain things in the air alerted me, and Mitsuki's spirit also seemed out of sync." Ryuu nodded his head, turning to glance at his shaking companion, then sighing. "I confess I do not understand her reaction, nor how to deal with it. But I will not have impolite students gathering as though she is some kind of freak show. Whatever her gifts are, a Kuchiki should be treated with respect, not hoarded around like a circus animal beginning its routine."

"Well, that should go without saying." Naoko paused to give the gathered students an imperious, withering glare. "I thought at least Clan people had better manners than to crowd around and stare."

At her cutting words, several students looked discomfited, and under her cold gaze they began to disperse, leaving the three girls and Ryuu alone in the corner of the common room.

"Mitsuki, are you okay?" Sora dropped down at Mitsuki's side, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder, and Mitsuki's head jerked up as if seeing Sora for the first time.

"Sora!" She sobbed, flinging herself on her friend and burying her head in the other girl's shoulder as she shook with the violence of her tears. Sora sighed, raising her gaze to meet Naoko's, then,

"Should we take her to your Clan Leader? Unohana-sama's back here now, after all – should we take Mitsuki there?"

"Maybe." Naoko knelt cautiously at the girl's other side. "Mitsuki-chan, Nakamura-san said you felt faint and giddy – do you want to go to the Healing Bay?"

Mitsuki drew a heavy breath into her lungs, raising her head.

"I'm not sick. I'm all right." She murmured. "It's not me…I'm not…"

She faltered, then,

"Ukitake-kun?" Naoko asked, and Mitsuki shook her head.

"It's a curse." She whispered. "There's just…fire…everywhere."

"A curse?" Sora's eyes widened. "A fire curse? But…what…"

"No, I think who is the more pertinent question." Ryuu looked concerned. "Ukitake and Kyouraku left the school earlier on, to follow the results of our Bakudou experimentations. If Mitsuki has reacted this way, then it can only mean one of them is in trouble."

"Shunsui, then?" Fear pierced Sora's heart, and Mitsuki nodded.

"Yes."

Her answer was little more than a whisper, and Sora's heart clenched once again.

"Shunsui's been cursed?"

"Yes."

"By what, though?" Sora demanded. "How…? He's stupid, but he's not that stupid!"

Ryuu knitted his brows together.

"Endou Seimaru's _zanpakutou_." He murmured. "What a nasty piece of work that one is. And even though we aimed to avoid him – it seems doing so was an impossibility, after all."

"A _zanpakutou_'s curse?" Sora whitened, staring at Ryuu in consternation. "But does that mean…"

"It means that Kyouraku is in trouble." Ryuu got slowly to his feet. "Take care of Mitsuki, both of you. Help her calm down, if you can. I will go and speak to Unohana-sensei."

"Curses can't be broken that easily, Kuchiki-kun." Naoko's expression became grave. "I doubt there's much that she can do. Not if there was real killing intent in the curse itself. It's not an illness, after all. It can't be healed."

Mitsuki let out a faint moan, sinking back against Sora once more, and Sora sighed, stroking her friend's hair absently.

"You can feel it too, can't you?" She murmured. "Well? If it can't be healed, what can be done about it?"

"By us? Nothing at all." Naoko spread her hands helplessly. "Curses are a matter of strength versus strength. They're entirely to do with will power and state of mind. If Kyouraku-kun's desire to live is stronger than Seimaru-dono's desire to kill him, then he will break it. But if it's the other way around, Kyouraku-kun will die. That's how curses work. They attack the soul in ways healers can't fix – until the curse itself is broken, there'll be nothing that Retsu-sama can do about it."

"Nothing?" Sora bit her lip, and Ryuu shot her a surprised gaze.

"Are you worried about him, then?"

"Of course, you idiot. Aren't you?"

"Yes. But that's because Kyouraku is one I have come to consider a friend." Ryuu said frankly. "You, on the other hand, spend all your time complaining about him and nagging him. I had thought you found him a nuisance."

"He is a nuisance." Sora admitted. "But…he…"

"It's a brotherly kind of nuisance." Naoko said succinctly. "Kyouraku-kun drives Sora mad, but it's always just banter, Kuchiki-kun. They're like siblings, because Tokutarou-sama grew up with Sora's family. So of course she'd be worried. Besides, anyone should be worried about someone if they're hurt like this."

"I don't see why." Ryuu pursed his lips. "I have absolutely no concern for Shihouin or Onoe, because they are not my allies and I have no interest in their situation."

"_Mitsuki_ does, though, even though the Shihouin and the Kuchiki hate one another." Naoko pointed out, and Ryuu shrugged.

"Mitsuki is…different." He acknowledged. "Even among our Clanfolk she is seen as such. She is not like the rest of the family…she is different."

"A lot of people in my family think I'm crazy." Mitsuki murmured at that moment. "But…thank you for defending me, Ryuu-kun."

"I don't think you're crazy." Ryuu admitted. "Although I do not understand how you view things, I am able to comprehend that you are not acting this way out of madness or seeking attention. Your whims correlate directly each time to actual events – there is no insanity in that kind of perception."

His gaze flitted towards the window, then,

"I can feel them, coming back." He murmured. "Ukitake. Kyouraku. And…"

"And?"

"Two are with them." Ryuu's brows knitted together. "One is…Hirata, I believe. The other…a woman. I do not know who she is."

"Endou-kun too?" Naoko's eyes widened, and Ryuu nodded.

"That was the reason for leaving the school this afternoon." He said quietly. "To find Hirata. It seems at least they have succeeded in that."

"But at what cost?" Sora murmured. "Come on. Mitsuki, you too – if you can stand. Let's all go meet them. If Shunsui's hurt then they might need help – and there'll be all hell let loose soon enough."

"I can stand." Mitsuki agreed, relief flooding her features. "And I can sense it too. It is Hirata-kun. And…someone else."

"We'll take a short cut, then we can avoid the Seniors if they happen to be around." Sora flung open the window, neatly pulling herself through it onto the grass outside. "Well? If you're coming, come. Mitsuki, take my hand – we're on the first floor, so there's no drop."

"Climbing out of windows is not very ladylike, Sora." Naoko scolded, but nevertheless she hitched up her own _hakama_, following suit with a heavy sigh. Between the two of them, they helped Mitsuki to clamber over, then,

"Kuchiki-kun, are you coming too?"

"Yes. I am." Ryuu agreed, resting his hands on the sill and vaulting cleanly over the divide onto the grass outside. "I do not believe there is time to waste."

"I didn't think I'd ever see_ you_ do something like that." Naoko shot him a surprised look, and Ryuu shrugged his shoulders.

"As I believe I have said, they are my friends." He said pragmatically. "Hirata has been missing and Kyouraku may be hurt. Therefore needs must, as the old adage says."

"Needs must at a quicker speed, so stop babbling and come on." Sora said urgently, gesturing towards the rear gate. "They're coming that way, aren't they? Even I can feel it now – it's definitely Shunsui and he's definitely not all right."

"We're coming, we're coming." Naoko muttered, but nonetheless she sped up her pace, and before long the four were within reach of the rear gate, just in time to see the missing students reach the main gate.

It was unattended, the assigned Senior having been called away to separate two third year students who had begun a brawl in the Kidou arena, and as they slipped back into the school grounds, Sora ran forward, anxiety on her features.

"Shunsui!"

"Sora?" At their approach, Juushirou raised his head, his gaze darting between each of them and resting, finally, on Mitsuki. He frowned, then, "Edogawa-san – you felt it, didn't you? You already know…don't you?"

Mitsuki nodded, apprehension in her grey eyes as Shunsui himself stepped over the threshold, dropping down onto the grass with a heavy sigh.

"That's me done, then." He said softly, and Sora could hear the hoarseness in his voice. "I can't go any further…even if you paid me."

"You can't just drop here, Shunsui." The girl who had been helping him dropped down immediately beside him, her expression a mixture of reproach and anxiety, and Sora stared at her in bemusement as she interpreted the stranger's simple dress and familiarity of manner. "Weren't you going to keep going till we found your Unohana-sama? What use is it to anyone if you stop here?"

"Saku, stop it." Shunsui raised a shaky hand, resting it against her arm as he shook his head. "I can't. My legs…I can't go any further."

"Don't push him, Etsuo-san." Juushirou said softly. "It's fine. We're back here now. We'll get help to come to him."

"What is going on? Why were you fighting that nutcase? What exactly happened in town?" Sora descended on them in a whirlwind of questions. "And Hirata, where have you been, exactly, for the last couple of days? Do you know how worried everyone has…and what the hell are you wearing?"

"District Two." Hirata touched the fabric of his robes absently, then, "I went to District Two to invoke an alliance and get help."

"District Two?" Shock flooded Ryuu's features. "You mean…that Shadow Cat?"

"Midori-sama is my ally. I'm an Endou, not a Kuchiki." Hirata said gravely, meeting the older boy's gaze bravely. "Our needs are different. And I needed her help."

He cast Shunsui a glance, biting his lip.

"But I didn't intend…"

"This is _Seimaru's_ work, correct?" Ryuu cut across him, and Hirata nodded.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "I've made a lot of trouble for everyone, haven't I?"

"I don't think you were the one making the trouble." Juushirou shook his head. "We were worried, but it's Seimaru who's to blame."

He crouched down at Shunsui's other side, putting a hand to his brow.

"You're still getting warmer." He said quietly. "It's probably best if you don't try to move any more."

"There's none of my water left." Hirata said anxiously, and the strange woman who Shunsui had called Saku sighed, pulling her own gourd from her belt.

"There's mine." She said frankly. "Here, Shunsui. Sit quiet and drink this."

Shunsui did not answer, but he took the gourd in clumsy fingers, putting it to his lips. At the greedy, thirsty way in which he drained it, Sora was struck cold, realising how high her classmate's fever ran.

"I've never seen you sick before." She murmured. "What the hell did he do to you?"

"Mitsuki said it was a fire curse." Ryuu said quietly. "Didn't you, Mitsuki?"

Numbly Mitsuki nodded her head.

"Then I'll go to the Healing Bay and get Retsu-sama." Naoko decided, bringing everyone back to reality with her matter of fact suggestion. "Since you all want to stand around, gawp at him and mutter about how it happened, I'll do something useful. If he's got a fever he should be inside. Even without any inclination for healing, I know that much."

"There's no need for that, Naoko-san."

The voice of the healer herself interrupted them at that moment, and relief flooded Sora's heart as she felt the gentle, reassuring pulse of the Clan Leader's reiatsu as she shunpoed onto the scene.

"Unohana-sensei!" Juushirou exclaimed. "Sensei, Shunsui is..."

"Yes. I am aware." Retsu nodded her head, bending down to touch Shunsui's brow, then frowning. "I think you should come with me now. Don't you, Kyouraku-kun?"

Shunsui raised his gaze to hers, and Retsu's expression became sober.

"Yes. I think that would be the best thing." She murmured, slipping her arm around his shoulders. In the next instant they were gone in a whoosh of spiritual energy, and Sora bit her lip, sending Juushirou an accusatory look.

"How could you let him get hurt like that?" She demanded, irrational anger bubbling up inside of her. "I know he's stupid, dammit, but you're supposed to have sense! Couldn't you have pulled him back?"

"Sora, there's no use yelling at Ukitake-kun." Naoko rested a hand on her friend's arm. "You said it yourself. Kyouraku-kun is stupid."

Juushirou looked pained, and Sora was struck by the guilt in his hazel eyes.

"It's my fault he's hurt." He said softly, shaking his head. "Thank you for saying that, Shikibu-san, but it is my fault this happened. He took the curse on my account. Because I lost my head and acted...foolishly. Neither of us knew...what Seimaru's flames could do. But..."

"He's got bad very quickly." The strange girl said apprehensively. "As though there really is a fire inside of him."

"The curse can't be broken by a healer." Hirata added miserably. "Unohana-sensei may have taken him, but there's nothing that she can do. Nothing at all."

"Then it's like Naoko said. It's a matter of Shunsui's will to live?" Sora bit her lip, and Hirata shrugged.

"I've never seen anyone overcome it before." He admitted, tears on his lashes once more. "I'm sorry, Sora. I didn't mean that he'd get hurt...because of me...because of this..."

"Shh." Juushirou shook his head, somehow managing to reassert himself at his friend's broken words. "Don't. You did something you had to do and you're not to blame for anything that happened because we came out looking for you. We were worried, but if we'd trusted you, it wouldn't have happened. You had everything planned out and we should have known that. You're not to blame for what your kinsman does, either. None of the blame is yours, Hirata. None of it at all."

The strange girl got to her feet.

"I want to go to where he is." She said quietly. "Please, if it's no trouble."

"Who _are_ you, anyway?" Naoko voiced the question Sora had been inwardly wondering about, fixing the girl with a scrutinous look. "What is your relationship to Kyouraku-kun and why are you here? You don't look like Clan."

"I'm not." The woman shook her head impatiently. "But right now that's not important. My name is Etsuo Saku, and right now I'm an old friend of Shunsui's. I'd like to go to where he is. Will someone please tell me the way?"

"Etsuo-san is not an enemy." Hirata murmured. "She works for Midori-sama, and she came back with us for her safety."

"And I think Shunsui would like to have her nearby." Juushirou added gravely. "So while there's nobody on duty to stop us, lets go to the Healing Bay. Unohana-sensei didn't say anything, did she, when she came and took Shunsui inside? She must have known you were here, Etsuo-san. But she didn't say anything about it. So I'm sure...if we ask her..."

"Are you sure letting a Shihouin employee into the Healing Bay is a good idea?" Naoko looked doubtful, and Juushirou nodded.

"I'll take responsibility." He said tiredly. "Besides, if I can, I intend on staying too. For a while, anyway. I don't think I can do anything, and Etsuo-san probably can't either. But at least if Shunsui knows we're there...if he does..."

"We'll go. There's no sense in arguing over it." Sora said at length. "If it's that way, then we'll go. Mitsuki, you want to go too - don't you?"

Mitsuki nodded.

"I'm trying not to focus on it, but his aura is surrounded by fire." She said softly. "Retsu-sama must have felt it too, that's why she came like she did."

She took a shaky breath into her lungs, then,

"Even if I can't do anything, going back to the dorm or the common room isn't going to change how I feel about it. So if I can run errands for Retsu-sama, at least then I'll be helping a little."

"Then that's what we'll do." Juushirou decided, relief in his eyes. "Now, before anyone tries to stop us."

"Wait."

The voice was deep and rumbling, and at the sound of it the students froze, each turning to face the speaker with a mixture of alarm and apprehension on their faces.

"Genryuusai-sensei." Sora whispered, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Hirata step instinctively in front of Saku, anxiety in his pale blue eyes.

For a moment there was silence, then,

"Endou Hirata." He said quietly, his piercing gaze resting on the youngest member of the group. "You have decided, then, to return to us after all?"

Hirata reddened, looking distinctly frightened, and Genryuusai nodded.

"Very well." He said evenly. "And you have brought Etsuo Saku, too...on the orders of your ally, I trust - Shihouin Midori?"

"Yes...yes, Sensei."

"I see." Genryuusai's eyes became near slits as he digested that, almost disappearing completely under his bushy white brows. Then he nodded.

"Retsu-dono has acted already." He mused. "So the curse has fallen on Kyouraku Shunsui, then?"

He tut-tutted slowly.

"When children play with things they are not ready to play with, tragedy can happen." He said frankly, and Sora saw Juushirou and Ryuu both flinch at the meaning in the old man's tones.

"It's my fault, Sensei. Not Shunsui's." Juushirou spoke up bravely. "What happened...was my fault. I did something silly and he rescued me. He got burnt in the process. It was...my fault."

"Then the burden will be even greater for you than for your companions, regardless of the outcome." Genryuusai said gravely. "But I don't think you need me to tell you that. You know, I think, only too well...that there is no guarantee that Shunsui will escape this with his life."

Juushirou hung his head, and despite herself Sora felt sorry for him.

"Sensei, is it all right for us to go to the Healing Bay?" She asked, one hand on Mitsuki's arm. "Mitsuki's worried, and...and..."

"I have no reason to stop you." Genryuusai shook his head. "You may go."

"I would like to go with them, please, sir." Saku said softly, and Genryuusai eyed her for a moment.

"I see." He mused. "On your mistress' behalf, or on your own?"

"M...my own, sir." Saku hesitated, then, "Though it was a long time ago, Sh...Kyouraku-sama and I were childhood acquaintances in District Eight. And I...even though things have come between us...I'd like to see that he's all right."

Sora's eyes widened, then a tiny smile touched her lips.

"Can we take her with us, Sensei?" She asked, and Genryuusai nodded.

"Go." He agreed. "Shikibu, you are also dismissed. Kuchiki, Ukitake, Endou. I wish to speak to all of you...but Hirata, I wish to talk to you first of all. Kuchiki, Ukitake - please go to your Dorm and wait there. If Houjou has returned from his remedial Kidou coaching, you may tell him that Endou has returned home safely, and that Kyouraku has received an injury. You are forbidden from telling him any more until we have spoken. Understood? I will not have wild gossip trawling the halls of this Academy!"

"Yes, Sensei." As one boy, Juushirou and Ryuu answered, and Genryuusai tapped his cane absently against the ground.

"My office, then, Hirata." He rumbled. "Now."

"Let's go." Sora slipped her arm in Mitsuki's, casting Saku a glance. "The Healing Bay is this way - follow me, Etsuo-san."

"Thank you." Saku offered her a faint smile. "I'm grateful. And sorry for appearing so suddenly like this."

"Are you really an old friend of Kyouraku-kun's?" Mitsuki asked her softly, and Saku nodded.

"When he was six years old, he came to stay at the manor near where my family come from." She agreed, and Sora saw a slightly wistful look enter her dark eyes. "I was about eight at the time and Father had just entered Shunsui's Uncle's service. So we saw a lot of each other as small children."

"The Kyouraku-ke allowed you to mix together, even though he was Clan?" Naoko was surprised, and Saku shrugged.

"It was Shunsui and I who made that choice. We were children and we didn't understand the levels between us." She replied sadly. "But when his family found out, we were separated. That was four years or so ago - a lot has happened since then. But...even though it has..."

She shrugged again.

"I'm fond of him." She murmured. "I can't change that, whatever else changes. And I'm worried about him. In all the years I've known him, I never remember him getting sick."

"Me either." Sora shook her head, feeling a strange kind of rapport with this odd newcomer. "Shunsui's like my brother in a lot of ways - his half brother is a blood relative of mine, so it's complicated but it means...well, Shunsui and I have a special sibling kind of bond. Even though we fight a lot."

"You seem to do most of the fighting." Naoko reflected, and Sora shrugged.

"That's only because Shunsui doesn't fight back. He just smiles and says something infuriating." She said sadly. "Seeing him like that...collapsed on the ground, barely able to speak...I don't like it. I'd rather he was teasing me as loud and hard as he could go...I don't like seeing him weak."

"Sensei seems to know a lot about everything that's happened today." Mitsuki murmured. "Don't you think so? He didn't ask a lot of questions. He seemed to know."

"He's the Headmaster, so I suppose it makes sense." Sora sighed, but Mitsuki shook her head.

"No." She whispered. "Because the fight stopped. Midori-sama and Seimaru-sama's fight...has stopped. And then Sensei..."

"You think Genryuusai-sama stopped Midori-sama and Seimaru-sama fighting?" Saku shot her a startled look, and Mitsuki nodded.

"Yes."

"Then..."

"If he let you come with us, it means he's chosen your side." Naoko said pragmatically. "Or at least, he believes Midori-sama to be in the right this time around. Which, if Kyouraku-kun has been cursed, seems a logical choice to make."

"Midori-sama came back to District One to stop Seimaru-sama from acting in a way that would hurt a lot of people." Saku said softly. "I'm not really sure how else to explain it. But even so...even though that's true..."

"Seimaru-sama is a powerful Endou." Sora said bitterly. "And without hard evidence against him, nothing will be done."

"Something will be." Mitsuki said resolutely. "He cursed Kyouraku-kun. Sensei must know that. If he does...then something will be done."

"But probably not the level he deserves." Sora clenched her fists, and Saku shook her head.

"Most of that blame will fall on the Shihouin-ke." She said gravely. "Midori-sama sees it as important that she forge and uphold as many alliances as she can - since the times in District Two will soon be difficult ones."

"For now, District Two can take care of itself." Sora said frankly, as they reached the door of the Healing Bay. "For now, Shunsui is more important than any of that. And if Naoko's right that it's down to him and to his willpower...we have to let him know that we're here, fighting on his side!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**  
_Why is Naoko in this chapter? Well, she had a moan to me about having had not much to do so far, even though she's a member of Class One. As the most neglected class member in the fic so far, I decided she could have a little bit of airtime here with Mitsuki and Sora._

_She's a persuasive individual after all ^_^._

_As for Nakamura Hanako - She's another of the four first year District students, along with Kira Hideharu and Juu...and one other who also hasn't been introduced by name. She's not particularly important at the moment so feel free to forget all about her XD_


	38. Heaven's Demon

**Chapter Thirty Seven: Heaven's Demon**

A grim silence overhung the atmosphere of Genryuusai's office as the old man took his customary seat, turning to gaze at his young companion with a long, thoughtful gaze. At the scrutiny, Hirata turned red once more, lowering his eyes and rubbing his left foot absently against his right shin in his discomfort.

_Too young._

Genryuusai's bristled white brows knitted together.

_Yet in this world, is there such a thing any more as too young? The danger is here, now. There is no room to cosset those that aren't ready. This world isn't as stable as it appears to be. Hollows are still being dispatched, and even the squads are only just keeping on top of the problems. It must move forward – more must be done. If we are ever to save Seireitei from collapse…there isn't time to linger over one whose youth proves to be foolishness._

His eyes clouded as he remembered Onoe, who still lay silent and unresponsive in the Healing Bay.

_Ones like that are no use to me. However, ones like this…_

He eyed Hirata again, taking in the folds of expensive fabric and the troubled expression on the boy's face. For the first time, even despite his consternation, Genryuusai realised that Hirata did not seem as much like a child as he had done the first time they had met.

_This is his crossroads, then. As it may be Kyouraku Shunsui's. I must not hold Hirata responsible for his Clan's acts any more than I must hold Midori and Kai accountable for theirs. I want to move away from that, after all – there will be many more crossroads, even if Shunsui dies. If that happens, there will be repercussion. There will be danger and another promising hope for Soul Society's future will have been extinguished into mist. But even knowing that, I mustn't let this one slip through my grasp either. Soul Society needs him too. It needs them all. _

The silence continued for some minutes, then, at length, Genryuusai spoke.

"Do you understand, Hirata, what the word 'curfew' strictly means?"

Hirata's head shot up, distress in his pale eyes as he slowly nodded.

"Speak, please. I wish to hear your voice."

"Y…yes sir."

"And you understand also the reasons for that curfew?"

"Yes sir." Hirata's words were barely more than a whisper, and Genryuusai nodded.

"I see." He said slowly, pausing to cast his gaze up and down his young companion's tense body.

"Where is your _hakama_?"

"I…"

"Do you know why it is that this school has a uniform, Endou Hirata?"

Without waiting for a response, Genryuusai's words cut across the younger boy's stutterings once more, and Hirata flushed scarlet a second time.

"To make sure that everybody is the same." He murmured. "Even if they're Clan or if they're not."

"And the colours you currently wear?"

"The…the brown of the Endou-ke and the…the Shihouin gold, Sensei."

"Quite so." Genryuusai was silent for a moment, then,

"You could quite easily have been killed, you know, acting so recklessly by yourself."

At the sudden change in tone, Hirata's blue eyes widened, and Genryuusai sighed.

"You caused a lot of people a good deal of worry, my boy." He said quietly. "A good deal of worry indeed."

Hirata looked contrite.

"I'm sorry." He murmured. "I don't know how to…"

"What I'm going to say to you is for your ears only. It does not go beyond this room for either one of us." Genryuusai said evenly. "Do you understand, Endou Hirata? What I'm asking you is your answer to give, not anyone else's. I'm asking you as my student – even robed that way I want to hear your answer as such."

"I…I understand." Hirata pursed his lips. "I'll try."

"You didn't choose to leave the school grounds of your own accord, did you?" Genryuusai asked quietly, and Hirata looked uncomfortable, slowly shaking his head.

"N…no, Sensei."

"Mm." Genryuusai rubbed his beard, then,

"I am fully aware of the ill will your cousin and perhaps other members of your Clan have towards me." He said evenly. "Towards change and my Academy – towards anything they perceive as a threat to their position. I have known for a long time that the Endou dislike me and the institution I have founded. Yet I still accepted you as a student…because it was my hope – and it is still my hope – that there might be members of District Seven's Clan I could reach."

He eyed Hirata keenly.

"Your father is a reasonable man, by all accounts, and his letter to me was earnest and precise." He added. "So I agreed to accept you, even as young and as untrained as you are. You are not the first student I have taken in at such a young age, after all – and I have never yet had cause to regret it. On the contrary, young students tend to flourish, once they have found their feet. Untapped potential rises better the younger a person is when they begin their schooling, after all."

He pursed his lips.

"But in the ten years my Academy has been in situe, I have not before accepted an Endou as a student…nor, in fact, have I been offered one to train." He reflected. "Your Father told me you had not been trained by your Clan, and so I felt certain I could work with you from the beginning and mould you into a useful member of Seireitei society. I did not have fear of letting you come here – on the contrary, to admit an Endou into my Academy gave me a lot of hope."

Hirata dropped his gaze, seemingly shamed by this observation, and Genryuusai sighed.

"I know, Hirata, that Seimaru's plan was to eradicate me and therefore send this place into confusion." He murmured. "I'm not so foolish as to not realise it, even if I have accepted you as a student here. I have lived a long time and known many heads of the Endou-ke. I have never yet had reasonable discourse with any of them about Seireitei's future – I am neither surprised nor frightened by your cousin's ambition. In fact, maybe I have been waiting for it since the ballot – a direct attempt to be made on my school and on my life. I have survived assassination attempts before, and I know the signs of scheming and the moves Clans make when they have something illicit in the air. I don't know by what means Seimaru intended to act – and I'm sure that I'll not be able to find evidence to back up what I know. However, I know it to be the case."

"Sensei…"

"I also know that you went to District Two to get Midori's help because you wanted to stop him." Genryuusai said softly. "You made her your ally because you didn't intend on being Seimaru's – and you couldn't fight him on your own. Is that correct?"

"Y…yes sir."

"Then you know, I think, a good deal more about Seimaru's plans than I do."

"I…maybe that's true." Hirata sighed, rubbing his temples, and Genryuusai could see that the youngster's exploits had taken both a physical and mental toll on his feeble body. "But my family live in District Seven, Sensei. People I love as well as those I fear and I hate. And I won't…I can't see them suffer because of something I've done. Already I've betrayed them in some way, by choosing to act like this. But…Father helped Midori-sama to leave District Seven. He wanted her to escape. So I believe in Father and I believe…I believe in her. Even though she…to Aitori-sensei…I…trust her."

"Yes. You trust her." Genryuusai echoed thoughtfully. "The decisions you've made are big ones, after all. Ones with far reaching consequences. Your cousin is a determined man – and he would probably not forgive your actions any time soon. You realise that, I think? That patching up that hole in your family might take generations."

"There is no patching it up, Sensei." Hirata took a deep breath, then, "Father sent me here to learn how to fight. So that one day, I could face Seimaru. And one day, I could take our Clan back and repair the damage. That's why I'm here. That's the only reason I'm here. To learn to be strong enough to save my Clan."

"And is that what you want too, Endou Hirata?"

"I…" Hirata faltered, then,

"I want to learn to be strong." He murmured. "And I want to protect my family. For that reason, Sensei, I can't give you the details or the proof that you need – I destroyed anything Seimaru gave me and I won't…I won't speak out publicly against him so long as Father and Mother and Eiraki-chan might come under threat. I can't do that. They're my family. I can't."

"Seimaru's crime against my Academy is not proven." Genryuusai rumbled. "But his crime against one of my students is beyond doubt. He released his _zanpakutou _in an area he had no reason or right to release it. He placed a dangerous spell on a student who may yet die from the after effects. The repercussions from your neighbours to the East will no doubt be severe, if Kyouraku should die. His other actions I cannot touch him for. But for this one, I can. I have already banished him from District One as punishment for hurting Kyouraku Shunsui. Him, and any other member of the Endou Clan, until further notice."

He smiled humourlessly.

"My Clan will sanction this, as soon as they understand the crime." He murmured. "They have always had good relations with the Kyouraku, after all. It will be ratified. It will be upheld."

"But…what about _me_?" Hirata blanched. "Will you…send _me_ home too?"

"What do you believe would happen, if I did?"

"I wouldn't ever leave District Seven again." Hirata said darkly. "Somehow Seimaru would manage it. He'd confine me. Call me a traitor. Torture me and kill me for turning to Midori-sama for help instead of carrying out his orders. Grandmother probably wouldn't stand in his way, either, if she thought I'd betrayed my Clan…if she thought I was weak and had failed, she wouldn't give me another chance. I would die, Sensei. Without a doubt, I would die. And perhaps my family would along with me."

"And if you did not go home?"

"Father and Mother and Eiraki-chan could claim I'm acting on my own impulses…have gone rogue under…under your influence." Hirata was clearly frightened, but he held his head up bravely. "So I decided when I went to District Two that I wouldn't go home. Not at all. But if you want me to leave…"

"On the contrary, I do not want you to leave." Genryuusai said softly. "You are a good student with potential – and this exploit, though foolish and dangerous proves you have a backbone and a resolution within you to do what you feel is right. I like you. I am fond of you. And so are your classmates."

"Fond of…" Hirata's eyes widened, and Genryuusai nodded.

"Dare I say, I am almost proud of you." He admitted. "Your actions were reckless. But they were also wise. And, quite probably, your solution was the only solution to your problem. You did not buckle to pressure or allow Seimaru to bully you into questioning your own faith. You acted for my sake, and for the sake of your classmates. That is the kind of team spirit – _squad_ spirit – this Academy is meant to nurture and teach. You are absorbing that – maybe it was already innate within you, and it was only the courage to act on it that you lacked. Time, perhaps, will tell. But yes. I like students who learn. I like students who show initiative. Most of all, I like students who are loyal."

Hirata reddened again, but Genryuusai saw the faint flush of pleasure in his cheeks, and nodded.

"But that will bring with it harsh sacrifices." He reminded the youngster. "Your decision is a weighty one, after all. If you remain here, your ties with District Seven will be severed. There will be no correspondence heading from this District to that one in the near future. Do you understand what that would mean?"

Hirata hesitated for a moment, then he nodded his head. Slowly and with trembling fingers he unfastened the Endou crest from about his neck, setting it down on his headmaster's desk.

"Please train me to be a proper Shinigami, Genryuusai-sensei." He said soberly. "So that one day I can take that back and wear it with pride once again."

Genryuusai eyed the youngster for a moment, then he got to his feet, resting his hands on the other's shoulders.

He smiled.

_So here it is, then. The first hurdle is overcome. If that's what you want, Hirata, I will teach you. And I believe I will make a Shinigami of you – one to make your Father proud_.

"Very well." He said aloud. "Then we shall say no more of your actions. You are a student of this Academy, and I will protect and train you as such with the hope that one day you will be what I hope you will be for the whole of Seireitei. Your potential is not as evenly distributed as some of your classmates – your spiritual power is high and your understanding good, but your physical strength is lacking and your vision impaired. You will never top the class you are in, Hirata, or perhaps match up with some of your older, stronger classmates. But you should never feel discouraged by that fact. If you can try to keep pace with them, you will succeed in your goal. I have seen your resolve, now – and I have faith in it for the future."

"Yes, Sensei." Hirata murmured, and Genryuusai released his grasp.

"You are dismissed." He said frankly. "Go to your dorm, and tell Kuchiki and Ukitake to come to me now. No – before you do, please, convey another message on my behalf. Kazoe-sensei should be in his office now – please tell him that I wish him to go to Retsu-dono and receive an up-to-date report on the condition of Kyouraku Shunsui – I want the news sent to District Eight as soon as possible."

"To…District Eight?" Hirata looked frightened, and Genryuusai nodded.

"Shunsui may die." He said quietly. "That is a very real possibility, Hirata, and I think that you know better than I do what your cousin's sword can do. Therefore the message cannot be delayed. He is the heir of an important Clan – but more he is a brother and a son and he has family who should be with him. Go quickly, and convey my instructions. I will not need to speak to you again – even if I will speak to Midori on her return, you and I no longer have a need to discuss politics. You are tired – and you need to rest."

Hirata bit his lip, then,

"Sensei…you aren't going to punish Ukitake-kun and Kuchiki-kun, are you?"

"That is a matter to be resolved between me and them." Genryuusai said simply. "But you needn't look frightened. I am not going to send them away."

Relief flickered in Hirata's blue eyes, but Genryuusai could see the underlying concern remaining as the boy bobbed his head in a fervent bow, fleeing the office before he could be called back.

_You have surprised me, Endou Hirata. But I like being surprised. And I hope there will be more surprises of that nature, rather than shocks of the other variety._

He got to his feet, scooping up the expensive pendant that had hung around the young boy's neck.

_Perhaps I will go out to speak to Midori also, when she returns from District Two. There is a chance, after all, that she will find it hard to cross the border back without my help. I must make arrangements, too, for Onoe to be returned to his family. Whether he lives or he doesn't is not a concern of mine now – he should return to the Shihouin and let them decide what to do about his choices. And as for Kyouraku Shunsui…_

He bit his lip, placing the Endou pendant in a secure box and fastening it away behind a wooden panel.

_I will have failed in many ways, if I let him die before realising his full potential. Tokutarou may not forgive me. Matsuhara might not have done, either. Ukitake feels the blame at present, but there is a share of it that is mine as well. Should the worst happen, I will be ready for it. But I hope not. Shinigami of Shunsui's potential cross my path only once in a blue moon. To lose him so easily would be a great blow…I hope he is able to find his strength and fight back against this on his own. It is a true test, I think, of how far he has come – and whether he has the discipline inside of him yet to battle for his life. The power is there, after all. It remains to be seen whether or not he has the will to use it._

A faint knock on the door brought him back to the matter at hand, and he resumed his seat, raising his voice to call the two students in. There was a moment of hesitation, then the wood panel slid back, revealing a crestfallen Juushirou and an anxious, apprehensive Ryuu. In their wake stood Enishi, and at the sight of him Genryuusai's bristling white brows knitted together.

"I don't remember sending for you too, Houjou." He murmured, and Enishi shook his head.

"No sir. You didn't, sir." He said quietly, his eyes dark and full of consternation. "But if Ukitake and Kuchiki are in trouble, sir, I should be in trouble with them."

"I see." Genryuusai eyed the trio for a moment, then gestured for them to come in and shut the door behind them. "Then you know, I presume, why it is I have summoned them here?"

"Because we cast a Kidou spell without permission." Ryuu said softly, and Genryuusai nodded.

"That is one of the matters I wish to discuss with you, yes."

"Because we didn't…come to you…about what we were trying to do?" Juushirou whispered, and Genryuusai nodded again.

"That is also a correct answer." He agreed. "Houjou, given your Kidou progress – or lack of it – I don't believe you responsible for casting the spell."

"No. But I knew about it. And that's as good as being part of it." Enishi stuck to his guns. "We wanted to find Hirata, and we were all involved in planning it. And if Kyouraku is hurt now…it's my fault too. So I came too. Because we were all in it together."

"I alone cast the spell, however, Sensei." Ryuu volunteered. "Kyouraku was intending to, but Ukitake did not want him to. So I…I cast the spell."

"Hmm." Genryuusai stroked his beard absently, taking in the tension in each boy's aura. "So may I put this down, then, to a conspiracy on the part of Class One in its relative entirety? I sent Edogawa, Shikibu and Shiba to the Healing Bay because of Edogawa's obvious distress, but their presence on the scene indicates they too know something about all of this. Shihouin is injured and resting, but with him aside…"

Juushirou bit his lip, then,

"Shihouin-kun wanted to come with us too, when Hirata brought back the message you wanted us now." He admitted reluctantly. "Only we…he's promised Unohana-sensei not to get up. And so the only way we could stop him…I promised I'd tell you…that he was involved too."

"Even Shihouin?" At this, Genryuusai was taken aback, and Juushirou nodded.

"He…it was his idea…to track Seimaru and not…try to track…Hirata." He murmured. "He wanted me to tell you that…because…he was worried about Hirata too. And…he's worried now…Shunsui is the person Shihouin-kun probably trusts most here, in truth. And because of this…he…feels responsible too."

"So all of Class One are, in fact, complicit?"

"Shikibu-san was not." Ryuu shook his head. "But otherwise...I believe…yes."

Genryuusai sighed, and for a moment there was silence as he digested this information.

"I am now in a quandary." He admitted. "Your classmate's injury is serious – he may yet pay with his life for the choices you all have made. I know this and I want to impress on you the severity of the situation. Yet I am not here to nanny you. There are times you break the rules –you or any of your fellow students – and you then feel the full weight of discipline come down on you. And there are other times when you break rules and I will not issue punishment…the world you are growing up to face is not one for people who are constantly relying on others to make their decisions."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"But these decisions can also come with consequences, and I want you to learn that fact as well." He murmured. "You are all familiar, I think, with that premise. You have also had ample time to realise it for yourselves. Your desire to find your classmate was admirable and your loyalty I commend. Your reckless use of Kidou, however, and your playing of the system in order to carry out your task…are mistakes that some warriors do not get to make a second time. Hierarchy and responsibility are delicate things. Some orders may be overridden when circumstances demand it. Others are absolute. You children still need to learn more clearly which are which."

He glanced at Ryuu.

"You cast the spell, Kuchiki?"

"Yes, sir."

"And the book you got it from – how did you manage to take it from the library?"

"I…simply borrowed it, Sensei. As extra reading." Ryuu reddened, and Genryuusai looked thoughtful.

"Where is this book now?"

"I…took it back to the library…when Ukitake and Kyouraku went into town." Ryuu admitted. "So that it would not be missed if someone else needed to use it."

"You are not yet at a trained level to use a spell of that nature. You will probably feel the after effects of casting it for a few days to come." Genryuusai advised him. "Wait a while, please, before you use such magic again. You have great potential, but you can damage that potential by using it too quickly. Understand?"

"Y…yes, Sensei."

"I will take into consideration, however, that you acted to help classmates and not out of your own personal interest. Normally I would isolate you – but this time I will not. Having used such a level of Bakudou, you may write me an assignment instead – ten thousand words on the uses and drawbacks of Bakudou and why techniques should not be manipulated by those without the adequate training. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sensei." Relief flickered in Ryuu's eyes, and he nodded his head.

"Enishi, since you are determined to take your part of the blame, I will assign a similar punishment to you to keep you out of mischief." Genryuusai added, watching the tall boy's face fall at his words. "Your subject will be about the values of good leadership and responsibility – when it is wise to be complicit, and when it is better to speak up and prevent a mistake. Ten thousand words also, if you please. You may tell Shihouin the same – if he wants to be considered responsible, and was well enough to conspire with you, he is clearly fit enough to take the punishment."

"Yes, Sensei." Enishi's expression told the old man that he would have preferred confinement, but Genryuusai ignored this.

"I will expect all reports by the end of the week." He murmured. "You may both go."

He flicked his fingers towards the door, and, exchanging looks, Ryuu and Enishi trudged from the office, leaving Juushirou alone with his mentor.

"And me, Sensei?" The look in the boy's hazel eyes almost dissuaded the old man from his severity, so anxious and guilt-ridden was his student's expression, but the old man kept a hold on his wits, inwardly reminding himself that Shunsui's life still weighed in the balance.

"Yes. And you." He spoke gravely, slowly shaking his head. "I don't believe anything I can say to you, Ukitake, will lighten or increase the burden you already carry. You understand my words to you, I think. You are intelligent enough to understand all of the implications."

"Sensei, if Shunsui dies…" Juushirou began, then faltered, and Genryuusai could see genuine emotion in the boy's gaze. Yet he did not soften his approach, spreading his hands.

"He may die." He agreed. "I have sent word to his family, and no doubt they will come when they understand how severe the situation is. There is no shielding you from this, Juushirou – I will not shield you. Just as I made it clear to Shunsui that he had put your life at risk when the Hollow attacked, now I will make it clear to you. There is one thing which is unforgivable among Shinigami – among squads and among trained men who serve Seireitei. That is putting an ally in danger on account of one's own reckless acts."

This was too much for Juushirou, who sank to the floor, burying his head in his hands. He was not crying, Genryuusai realised, but even so the boy's aura buzzed with negativity and despair, and he sighed heavily.

"Look at me." He said quietly, and Juushirou hesitated, then slowly raised his gaze once more.

"Your friend's life is in _his_ hands." Genryuusai said quietly. "You're not used to it this way, I know – you're used to being the patient, not the one worrying. But maybe it's a lesson you needed to learn, too. I know, Juushirou, that your father's death almost destroyed your own will to live. I know you rebuilt this resolve of yours, piece by piece, in order to repay him for the life he gave you to lead. He taught you valuable lessons, and those lessons are beginning to have a positive effect on those around you. But even given those things, you are not always right. And your actions can hurt others, just as surely as they can hurt you. If you remember your father, truly, you know that. And you must remember it."

"Sensei, I…"

Now the tears came, but Genryuusai pushed ruthlessly forwards, not giving the youngster time to speak. Though he did not like taking such a hard line, he knew that the time for gentility was over. The lesson must be learnt now – or regretted forever.

"Your father died because you could not protect yourself." He said now. "That was not your fault. You understand, I think, that it was not your fault. But you were helpless, then. Do you realise that you are still as helpless now? The man who you went to face bears a weapon – a _zanpakutou_ which you have no experience of facing, nor know anything about. You could have been killed. What of your Father's hopes then? What of the hopes of District children everywhere, if you had let yourself be killed by foolishness? Thanks to Kyouraku, you are still here. But you are no use to me – or to anyone – if you require other people to make that judgement for you. If you cannot stand for yourself and survive on your own, Ukitake, you will quickly fall. And if you can't recognise that your shortcomings can put others in danger, you are never going to be a Shinigami."

"I…didn't…Shunsui…I didn't…ask him to…"

"But Kyouraku is a Shinigami's son, and protective instinct runs through his blood." Genryuusai forged on. "He is foolish, lazy and insolent on occasion, but he is also smart, quick and capable. And this time he realised more quickly what you have not yet grasped. That your life is important to him – even if it isn't important to you."

"It's not more important than his life, Sensei!" Juushirou objected at that moment, distress in his eyes, and Genryuusai shook his head.

"No. It is not." He agreed soberly. "Yet Kyouraku's act was the instinctive act of a Shinigami to protect a soul in danger. I understand you wanted to find Hirata, and I understand your reasons for acting how you did. But there was no reason to confront Seimaru or step into danger without adequate training."

His eyes narrowed.

"There is no punishment I can give you which is worse than what you have already created for yourself." He said sadly. "I have hope that Shunsui's native strength will save his life. But either way, I cannot guarantee a happy ending. You will have much to think about, no doubt, as he fights."

Juushirou did not answer, and now Genryuusai relented, getting to his feet and approaching the crumpled youngster, kneeling at his right side and putting a hand on his arm.

"This arm will one day wield a powerful sword." He said quietly. "I know this, because the first time I met you I sensed it, swirling deep within you. Till then I had never felt it quite so clearly in one born in the Districts – that a child with little training or experience should already be so close to such an advanced level of power. Yet your knowledge and background is weak here. Clan children are trained. They know and understand things you do not. And you are not their equal, yet. You are as smart as them, as powerful as them, and as promising as they are. You should not let them look down on you, because you will one day be stronger than most of them will ever hope to be. But you do not understand their inner workings. And you must, Ukitake. Without being tainted by it, you must. You must see all the dangers before diving in, because you have no powerful family to catch you if you fall. You cannot simply look for the good faith in everybody. Some people do not have it. Some people never will. And those people will always be enemies, so long as there is life in their bodies."

"People like…Seimaru-sama?" Juushirou whispered, and Genryuusai nodded.

"You have become known to him, now. He will not forget this any more than you will." He said evenly. "Hirata acted rashly, but wisely, in the final analysis, calling on an ally of enough strength to match Seimaru's own power. Hirata's knowledge of Clans made him choose to do something which was the sensible solution to his problem. But _your_ actions were naïve and unprepared. And I hope that the situation has not been complicated because of them. I cannot promise you that Shunsui will live, and I cannot promise you will not clash with the Endou-ke again. You cannot rely on your ignorance always. Make now the point from which you start learning."

"I…I suppose I didn't think that…he'd take any notice…of someone like me."

"You are either a danger or you are a blessing, depending on what path you choose to walk." Genryuusai responded gravely. "You are naturally popular – your nature and personality make you someone who attracts support and your intelligence makes you a leader, even if you haven't asked to be one. What you do affects other people. It may affect them only on the surface. But it may run far more deeply."

"Shunsui keeps saying things like that." Juushirou admitted brokenly. "That I've been winning over my classmates one by one…that I've been countering Clan pride with kindness and that I was unstoppable. I thought he was just teasing me, because he teases me a lot. After all…I just…wanted to make friends. I've never had the chance to do that before."

"It makes life a very difficult path for you to walk down." Genryuusai said wisely. "Shunsui is right – I think, despite his carelessness, there is often truth in what he says. You might think you only act as yourself, but that isn't the case. At home, Juushirou, who do your siblings look to for guidance most of all?"

"Well, me, but I'm the eldest…and Otousama is…"

"I have never had a class of students who were so adamant about breaking rules in their first term before this one." Genryuusai continued. "But I have also never had a class which has so quickly overcome Clan differences and formed friendships despite political estrangement. Whether you realise it or not, Class One is largely led and influenced by you, and the decisions and actions you take."

"But…that's not…" Juushirou looked aghast, and Genryuusai smiled.

"Being in that position is a big responsibility." He agreed. "And that's why I'm talking to you now, in this way. What you have is quite unique. Your spirit power, your sense and your understanding are all unusual gifts to have. You work hard, study hard and learn the skills you are taught with thoroughness and dedication. But you also have the desire to put things right – the humanitarian instinct to care about those around you and want to make a better world. That's why I wanted to train you. Kyouraku has all the natural, spiritual abilities of a Shinigami, but he lacks the inclination to become one. You have all the qualities _and_ the hard working ethic to make it a reality even despite your low birth. You are a leader – you will always be a leader. Even if you choose not to lead, you will still have the same effect on your companions. Because of you, Class One is unified. But also because of you, they are prone to taking risks. I want you to think about that for a little while, please. After all, this is just the beginning of your training."

"If Shunsui dies…" Juushirou began, then faltered, shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Shunsui _won't_ die." He said flatly, obstinacy glittering in his hazel eyes as he got carefully to his feet. "Sensei, if you're right – if I lead this Class in any way – I won't _let _him die. I _won't_ let him give up. I'll make sure he keeps fighting…somehow…"

"This isn't a battle you can fight. It's his and his alone." Genryuusai reminded him, and Juushirou's lips thinned.

"But with your permission, Sensei, I'd like to go to the Healing Bay." He said quietly. "I'll undertake any punishment you give me – and do any penance you see fit for my activities. If I'm as responsible as you say, no doubt I deserve a lot of punishment up to this point, and I realise you've so far been lenient. But if I can go to the Healing Bay, maybe Shunsui will know. He's sensitive to reiatsu, after all. Mine especially, he said. If he knows people are supporting him – maybe that'll give him strength somehow. It's all I can do, anyway – but I know that, when I'm feeling my worst, having someone nearby gives me strength. So maybe…maybe it will work…for him, too."

Genryuusai pulled himself upright, meeting his student's gaze pensively.

"Yes. That is the strength within you, after all." He reflected. "Very well. You may go and do as you please. Your young friends, also. I am not punishing you beyond this, after all. For one like you, Shunsui's condition is your punishment. For one who understands being ill more than most your age, and for one with true compassion – it is, I think, the most effective punishment of all. You are not a student I want to beat and injure, nor are you someone I want to confine. Your lesson is in seeing others suffer for your mistakes. If you learn that, then I think you'll benefit more than from any other lesson I could try to teach."

* * *

His every breath was on fire.

In the thick, hot swathe of energy that had ensnared his body, Shunsui tossed and turned, fragments of thoughts and memories blurring together in his head as he tried to make sense of what was going on. With every gasp of air he pulled into his lungs, the fire seemed to be reignited once more, and shudders ran through his stricken form, pain surging through his ribcage to the soft tissue beneath. The scent of charring penetrated his senses, making him feel nauseous and giddy, but as he parted cracked lips to call for help, no sound was forthcoming.

The spasms that rippled through his protesting form were like earthquakes, splitting his mind into smaller and smaller shreds and the harder he struggled against them, the less he could piece one torn fragment against the other. His physical form suddenly seemed heavy and unwieldy, immobile and something that was stifling him, bit by bit, into pain and hell-fire.

_Seimaru_.

The name darted across his wits - or had it been whispered by someone outside of his cocooned awareness? Shunsui couldn't tell, only that the sound of the word wrought new agony through his anguished form and he twitched instinctively away from it, searching desperately for any way to escape the pain.

As he did so, the world around him seemed to take on a life of his own, fire blazing up the trunks of trees and scorching across grass as dry as tinder as it sought to trap him further into its snare. From far away, Shunsui was sure that he could sense something watching him, but what it was and whether it was friend or foe he could not tell. Then, as the flames surged afresh, fear and panic took over, and he took to his heels, turning and fleeing as far from the encroaching fire as he could.

Yet even though he felt like he was running, he knew, somehow, that he was not.

The fire was not going away. It was wherever he was, and it was determined to consume him entirely. The pain was unimaginable, and the fear almost stifling as tongues of cruel flame licked up through his body, latching themselves around his organs and slowly but surely squeezing the life out of them.

In that instant he found he could no longer run, his legs and arms bound by black tendrils of vine that had burrowed from the earth below and lashed themselves around him. Though he struggled and fought, hysteria driving him, he saw the first flicker of spectral energy begin to creep up from the ground, wrapping itself lovingly around the black vine. As the tendrils twitched closer and closer to his skin, Shunsui's soul let out a scream of terror, fighting to free himself as the fire drew ever nearer to encircling his heart.

And then, as if someone had swept a curtain across a stage, the world around him went black.

Crouched and huddled on the floor, Shunsui dragged in pitiful, whimpering breaths, his lungs aching and desperate for the air that he needed to stay alive. With each breath he took, he felt the weight of his physical form draw further and further away from him, yet he did not question it, simply glad to have a moment of respite in a sea of pain.

His body was damaged. It was injured and burning. It was a place where he was suffering. And he did not want it.

_**So you've given up already, have you?**_

The voice echoed out of the blackness, followed by a derisive snort.

_**That's exactly what I expect from the son of Kyouraku Matsuhara.**_

Shunsui turned, struggling to see the speaker, but there was nothing but blackness stretching out for miles around him. He felt dizzy and light-headed, suddenly realising that he had moved a significant distance from his physical form, and although he could still sense the burning pain that rippled through it, it was almost as though he was feeling the suffering of a stranger.

_Have I let it go, then, completely? Have I given it up, because it no longer works?_

Slowly Shunsui attempted to process this thought, struggling to put it into context and grasp the significance of what he was feeling.

_So long as there's no pain, it doesn't matter. I don't need to be in pain. I don't need to be there. It can burn. Let it burn. I can manage here without going back._

As soon as this thought crossed his senses, a wave of relief and peace washed over his body, and around him the darkness began to lighten, colours blurring together into a landscape with flower-patterned meadows stretching out before him as far as the eyes could see.

As Shunsui got slowly and unsteadily to his feet, he felt the gentle summer breeze waft around him, teasing at his messy curls and brushing stray leaves and petals haphazardly across the ground.

It was a beautiful place. A peaceful place. A sanctuary, in fact , Shunsui reflected, a faint smile touching his face as he bent down to touch the edges of one of the nearest flowers. Even though he had never been here before, he felt secure in its familiarity. And though he knew it was not real, it felt vivid enough to be more than a dream, the colours and scents of this chimera penetrating deep down to the very heart of his senses.

If he was sleeping, he knew that it was a deep, steady sleep. And if he was dying, then he would embrace death. There was no fire here. If this was the only way to escape the pain, then he would give himself completely to this place. He had, after all, no reason to return to the suffering which had so terrified him moments before.

"So you think to turn this into a hiding place too, do you?"

The words cracked across his senses like ice shattering on a frozen pond and as the wind suddenly began to pick up, Shunsui was aware of a cold darkness beginning to surround him, spreading further and further into the atmosphere as he tried to place where it was coming from. He swung around, scanning the horizon once more for the speaker, but there was no one immediately visible and his heart clenched in his chest.

"You won't find me behind you. I'm not a coward and I don't hide." The voice was mocking and derisive, and Shunsui froze, a prickle running down his spine as he felt a whoosh of air sweep past him. He bit his lip, slowly turning back to face the meadow, and as he did, his eyes widened with horror and dismay.

Where the flowers had bloomed so peacefully only moments before, the field was now carpeted only by decaying petals and leaves, each colour shrivelled and brown as though the death-touch of autumn had touched every one, consigning it to its fate.

In the midst of these floral corpses was a figure, and as Shunsui's gaze shifted to the intruder, he felt his heart skip a beat a second time.

This was the speaker, then. And he was undoubtedly not human.

Was he even a he? Shunsui swallowed hard, not quite sure and yet not daring to ask.

The creature that stood before him was like nothing he had ever seen before. Tall and sinewy, his flesh was either pulled so tightly to his bones that it distorted his features or he was truly skeletal. Blazing red eyes flickered with brimstone and ash, glaring at him with an undefinable amount of scorn. He was robed almost entirely in black, his thin limbs cloaked by fabric that, as Shunsui eyed him more closely appeared to be more like the soft membrane of bat's wings than actual cloth, and as he began to take steps forward, Shunsui let out a gasp, registering that it was not clothing at all, but a part of his ungainly body.

Was this...Death?

His fingers were long, pale and thin, and as he paused before Shunsui, he stretched out his right hand, brushing the tip of his index finger against the boy's cheek. Involuntarily Shunsui shivered, words frozen in his throat as he flinched back, and at his reaction, the figure let out a mocking laugh.

"You stare at me as though I were something you'd never seen before." He said reproachfully. "That's not very nice, Shunsui. You shouldn't be so reluctant to greet me. After all, we're very good friends."

"Friends?" At length Shunsui found his voice, staring up at the figure uncomprehendingly. "What do you mean, friends? I don't even know what you are, let alone..."

"Let alone why I should invade your peaceful sanctuary and lay waste to it?" The creature finished his sentence for him, pursing his lips then letting out a derisive snort. He stretched out his other arm, and though his limbs were skinny enough that they might snap in two, with just the barest flick of his fingers he pushed the startled student back onto the ground.

"You really don't understand anything yet, do you? Coward that you are, you really don't know who I am."

Shunsui scrambled into a sitting position, feeling the decaying petals beneath his body and he swallowed, suddenly revulsed by the sensation of death so close to his skin.

"I'm sorry." He managed. "I don't see how I could, seeing as I've never seen you before in my life. And no offence, but I think I'd remember. If we'd met before."

The creature's eyes narrowed, flickers of fire blazing from the odd eyes, and Shunsui stared in dismay as sparks dropped to the ground below, sizzling and shrivelling up the dead leaves into black ash at a moment's touch.

So the fire could come here too, then. This creature was capable of that. Was it this creature, then, who had so tormented him before?

His brows knitted together.

"What did you do to me?" He demanded, his words more fearful than he would have liked, and at his question the apparition let out a scornful laugh.

"I? Do to you?" He demanded. "Well. There's gratitude for you! I thought you were intelligent, Shunsui. I thought your senses were sharp. Did you burn them all already playing foolish games? You should be thanking me. You should be grateful. Not staring at me as though I'm the one who's about to take your life."

His eyes narrowed, red orbs spitting fire once more into the ether.

"_You're _the one who's about to do that, running scared like a little girl looking for her mother." He said cuttingly. "Coward that you are."

"I don't understand." Shunsui bit his lip, and the creature sighed, shaking his head.

"No. You're the son of that fool, so of course you don't." He said blackly. "And there's no time to explain anything to you right now, either. You've let yourself get into this state, after all. I can't hold you here very long."

"Hold me...?" Shunsui looked wary. "What do you mean, hold me? What do you want, monster? What are you trying to...?"

"Monster?" The creature's eyes widened, then he shook his head, flexing the thin membrane of his wing-like limbs as he did so. "So you'll call me that, then? Monster? Without understanding, you'll call me such a name?"

He frowned.

"My name is Amaki." He said softly. "For the time being, that's all you need to know from me."

"Amaki?" Shunsui murmured, and Amaki nodded, an amused smile twitching at the thin strips of flesh which might, in another existence, be called lips.

"Ama, as in heaven. And Ki, as in demon." He said softly, a faint menace to his tones. "Pleased to meet you, Shunsui."

"Heaven's demon?" Shunsui's brow knitted together. "Wait a minute, you..."

"You're not going to be the one asking questions." Amaki interrupted, reaching down to grasp Shunsui by the folds of his_ hakamashita _and hauling him up to his feet with a surprising amount of strength. "There is no time, and I have plenty to ask you. Beginning with this. How long did you really think you could hide from me? Really, truthfully? How long did you think it would be? Till one friend died? Till several did? Till the world ended? How long would you prevaricate before thinking to come for me?"

"Pardon me?" Shunsui stared, and Amaki sighed, closing his eyes for the briefest of moments. His vice-like grip tightened around the fabric of Shunsui's clothing, and Shunsui could feel the anger and frustration swelling through him.

"You are dying." He said quietly, his tones both menacing and matter of fact as the swirl of sulphur-like reiatsu began to seep into Shunsui's own aura. "Your body is on fire, so you have discarded it. Like the coward you are, you have turned tail and run. Just like you always do. Just like you always have."

His eyes narrowed and he pushed his head closer, till their foreheads were almost touching.

"You like things to be easy." He said quietly. "And I've put up with that for a long time. I've had to. I've been held back. But right now, nothing's holding me back. For the first time I can tell you face to face what I think of you - what a pathetic specimen of a would-be Shinigami you pretend to be. Your body is poisoned by a fire curse cast by a toddler in _zanpakutou _art. Your spiritual energy should have dispersed it in a second. But instead you falter and wallow, running scared from the pain because it burns a little bit. Do you have any idea how pathetic you are? If you die, it will be all you deserve."

"All I...deserve?"

Shunsui frowned, and for a moment there was an oppressive silence between them as the skeletal fingers seemed to tighten around the fabric of the _hakamashita_. Then,

"Yes." Amaki said at length, releasing his grip and Shunsui fell heavily once more to the ground below. "And if I have to, I'll teach you the hard way. You will listen, and you will act. Otherwise you will be destroyed. I've no time for you the way you are. I'd rather face oblivion than _ever _consider accepting you like this."

"I don't understand." Shunsui murmured, struggling to pick himself back up as the creature stared down at him malevolently. "Any of this. If this is a dream, then it's stopped being a nice one. And..."

"And you'd like to run away from it, now, and find somewhere else to bury your head in the sand?" Amaki cut across him, dropping to his knees and pushing his face forward so that his nose was once more only inches from Shunsui's own. "No. That won't do. You won't hide from me. No matter where you go, you won't find a place that I can't reach. So you should just submit. It will be easier, after all, to accept my terms and to accept them now."

"Which are what, exactly?" Despite himself, real fear flared up inside of Shunsui's heart at the intent in the other's gaze. "What are you going to do? Molest me to death?"

"Molest you?" Amaki stared at him for a moment, then he began to laugh - a strange, almost screaming laugh that pierced right through to Shunsui's core. Then, as abruptly as he'd begun, he stopped, swinging his right hand sharply across his companion's cheek. The two had made contact long before Shunsui felt the shock of pain reel through his senses, and Amaki glared at him, grasping him by his hair and pulling the boy's head towards him.

"You are going to go back." He said quietly. "You are going to go back and face the fire. You are going to stop running from it, and face it. No matter how much it burns. No matter how much pain you suffer. You are going back. Do you understand? While you still can."

"But..."

"Otherwise I will kill you, here and now."

Amaki's fingers twitched free of the boy's hair, his hand raising up above his head, and suddenly Shunsui was aware that his companion held a jagged blade, shadow black from hilt to tip..

"The choice is yours."

"What the hell are you?" Shunsui whispered. "Are you Death? Is that why...is that..."

"Death? No. You wish I was Death." Amaki's mouth twitched into a horrific grin, striking terror once more into Shunsui's heart. "Death would strike quickly. I, on the other hand, have a lot to make you suffer the consequences of. I don't treat cowards gently."

Odd, ghostly fire began to lick up the blade, and Shunsui shuffled back, as fear once more pierced through his body.

"I would kill you, now." Amaki continued. "Just for all the years you've made me suffer in silence. But I won't. Not yet. I'm giving you the choice. Because there's a girl, there, waiting for you. She thinks you're worth something, even if I don't. And I don't like women's tears."

"A girl...?" Shunsui faltered, staring at his companion in confusion. Even as he did so, however, he thought he heard the faintest breath of a voice touch against his dislocated senses.

"Shunsui? Hang on in there, Shunsui."

"Saku." He murmured, and Amaki sighed.

"You should go back, while someone still believes in you." He said quietly. "Else believe me, you'll wish you'd never been born. My blade and I don't take kindly to making girls suffer. And you're not a fit specimen to inspire tears in anyone, girl or boy. So this is your last chance. Go back. Face the fire and win. Else face me, and be sure you'll die."

Shunsui closed his eyes, tears wet on his lashes as he struggled with the waves of fearful hysteria that washed through him. As he fought with himself, he was aware for the first time of the flickers of other reiatsu surrounding him, and he swallowed hard, identifying them one by one.

Juushirou. Sora. Ryuu. Mitsuki. Hirata. Enishi. Saku. Unohana Retsu. Was that his brother, too? And yes, somewhere in the background, the powerful fire aura of Genryuusai himself.

_People who believe in me._

He opened his eyes, sending Amaki a dark look.

"I don't want to play with you. Not if they're waiting for me." He said softly. "I don't care if you're Death or some God of Divine Punishment...I don't care who or what you are or if you're even really there. I don't intend to waste any more time talking to you. Send me back. I want to go back. They're my friends. They're people who I like. I don't want to waste any more time here with you."

Amaki was silent for a moment, then he spread his hand, the sword disappearing into flickers of black energy.

"These people do mean something to you, don't they." He murmured. "Well. Maybe there is hope after all. Maybe Seibara was right. Perhaps my judgement is hasty."

He stepped back, and Shunsui felt the oppression of his aura fall away bit by bit.

"Seibara?" He managed, but Amaki shook his head.

"Go back." He said simply, raising his skeletal hands, and as a flare of darkness shot out from his palms, Shunsui found himself once more dragged down towards the volcano of flames that had imprisoned him once before.

As the pain shot through him once more, he gasped, the shudders of agony ripping through his body and causing panic to rise once again in his heart. Yet in this panic he could feel the touch of someone familiar, and this anchor to the world outside the inferno gave him the tiniest fragment of strength to cling on to.

Saku. Saku was by his side, touching his brow, and speaking to him. And though he could not make out her words, he knew that she was real.

_If I die, will she cry? Would I want her to cry?_

Then, as another familiar reiatsu assailed his senses, he was struck by another realisation.

"Shunsui-kun? Please, Shunsui-kun, keep fighting."

_Okaasama?_

In that instant, Shunsui's resolve hardened.

_Saku might cry. She might not. But Okaasama will. And I already broke that promise once. I said I wouldn't make her cry, but I did. I won't make her cry again. I won't die, and make her bury her son as well as her husband. I'm not going to do that to her - she's suffered enough already._

_So I'm not going to die. I'm going to fight. I'm going to fight back. I'm going to find a way to get through this...I'm going to go back._

_

* * *

_

"He's resting a little more peacefully."

Retsu stepped away from the bed, casting the gathered wellwishers a faint smile as she did so. "It's getting very late, however - students should be returning to their dorms and to bed. I will keep watch over Kyouraku-kun through the night - you must trust in me to do so and go and get your own rest."

"None of us will sleep, Unohana-sensei." Juushirou said softly, and Retsu shook her head.

"Nonetheless, you will go." She said firmly. "All of you, at once. Kyouraku-kun has his mother at his side now, and his brother near at hand. He has plenty of support and you should return to your dorms."

"What about me, Unohana-sama?" As the students trudged reluctantly from the Healing Bay, Saku sent the Clan Leader a questioning look. "Is it...can I...stay?"

"That depends entirely on what Yoshiko-sama has to say."

Retsu settled herself down once more at Shunsui's side, casting the pale, anxious figure of Shunsui's mother a questioning glance. "Yoshiko-sama, do you have any objections to Etsuo-san remaining at your son's side for the time being? Genryuusai-sama has currently asked us to keep her here, whilst Midori-sama returns to District Two to settle affairs there - it seems her presence gives Kyouraku-kun some amount of comfort."

Yoshiko sighed, rubbing her temples.

"If it brings him relief, then I don't mind." She murmured. "I don't know who you are, child, or your connection to my son. But Tokutarou-sama seems to know your name, and that you are an ally of Shunsui's. That being the case, if you aren't tired...I would not ask you to leave him."

"Thank you." Saku looked relieved, bowing her head towards the other woman solemnly. "I appreciate your kindness, Yoshiko-sama."

"So far Shunsui's been ill for almost six hours." Tokutarou put in from the far corner, where he had propped his tense frame up against the wall, arms folded across his chest as he watched his young brother fighting for his life. "The kid Hirata said that in the past it had consumed a victim in three...Retsu-sama, do you think he can continue to fight it?"

"It is a nasty curse, although I have seen more powerful ones." Retsu folded her hands in her lap, meeting Tokutarou's gaze gravely. "Kyouraku-kun's spiritual potential is untrained, otherwise it would not have had such a deep effect on him. If he was at the level where he could wield a _zanpakutou_, I would have expected him to shake off the effects quite quickly, since this spell was cast by a Shinigami with considerably less spiritual power than your young brother. However..."

"He's always been hesitant to use that power." Yoshiko said softly. "He's always shied away from it. I never thought about it much until now, but I think...I wonder...whether he was afraid of becoming a Clan tool. I know his Uncle took him from me for that purpose - I hadn't thought that Shunsui had realised it himself. But he must have, even if he never mentioned it in his letters."

"He doesn't confide many things in people." Tokutarou agreed gravely.

Saku dipped a folded sheet of cloth in the nearby basin of water, placing it against Shunsui's burning brow and he twitched and murmured incoherently at the contact.

"I wonder if he even knows people are here," she murmured. "Worrying about him like this."

"If he does, then I'm sure...he'll pull through." Tokutarou remarked. "He told me once, Yoshiko-dono, that he didn't want to make you cry in the way Father did. So if he knew you were here...I'm sure he wouldn't give in that easily. He loves you a lot, after all. He wouldn't want you to have to suffer because of him."

"Shunsui..." Yoshiko bit her lip, then slowly bent to kiss her son on his brow.

"In that case, Shunsui-kun, hear my voice and keep fighting." She murmured. "I'll stay here as long as you need me - so don't give in."

"Endou Seimaru had better hope also that Shunsui doesn't give in." Tokutarou said grimly. "Because if my brother dies, that will not be ignored."

"Tokutarou-sama, I don't believe that Kyouraku-kun would endorse a war declared on his account." Retsu said calmly, and Tokutarou shook his head.

"No. Not a war. A war would hurt innocent people, and I know only too well how many of those there are already in pain in District Seven. My business would be with Seimaru himself."

"I don't think Shunsui would like that either." Saku admitted softly. "In all the time I knew him, Tokutarou-sama - he always hated violence. I think...he'd be really sad...if you acted like that."

"Yes. Probably." Tokutarou sighed, pain and frustration in his dark eyes. "But it's hard to know what else to do. It's in his hands - if he doesn't make it...I don't think I'll be able to just sit back and do nothing. I think...I'll have to act. Even if it's foolish...I don't think I'll be able not to."

Shunsui let out another murmur at this, and Retsu frowned, reaching a hand across to touch his pulse.

"His heart is beating less rapidly." She murmured. "And I believe his fever has dropped a little in the last half an hour."

"Dropped?" Yoshiko eyed her in hope and desperation, and Retsu nodded.

"I think he is starting to fight back." She agreed. "Kyouraku-kun's spirit power is considerable, after all. Everyone here knows that that's the case. If he's decided to use it to fight back, then he will survive."

She removed the cold poultice, brushing the damp strands of messy brown hair back from the patient's brow.

"In the next hour, I think we will see for sure how things will go." She murmured. "But I believe...I feel his reiatsu starting to spike. I think he intends to fight. And if that's the case...I think he will live."


	39. Saku and Shunsui

**Chapter Thirty Eight: Saku and Shunsui**

It had been a long and gruelling night.

Saku pushed back the shutters at the window, allowing the streaming morning sunlight to brighten the sickroom and letting out a heavy sigh.

Morning had come, then, and with it some relief. After all, despite the harrowing night before, Shunsui still lived.

She turned, taking in his sleeping form for a moment, and despite herself a fond smile touched her lips. He was completely oblivious, his hair more messy and tousled than usual from the spike of the fever, but though his cheeks were still faintly flushed, his breathing was quiet and even, and watching him soothed her ruffled feelings even more.

_Even now, I can't think of you dying. Even though I thought us separate – here I am. Last night I couldn't have left you – even if Midori-__sama__ had called, I could not. What does that say, then, about my strength of will? Even though I know I can't stay here…even so, here I still am._

She stepped away from the window, moving to stand at the bedside.

The fever had raged long into the night, for even after Retsu had mentioned the flare in his reiatsu, it had been far from the end of his battle, and his cries of pain and frightened whimpers had each pierced right through to the core of Saku's young heart. From time to time he would turn, flinging out his hands as if looking for comfort in his world of delirium, and as Shunsui's mother had clasped the hot, dry hands in her own delicate pale ones, the woman's clear anguish had only made Saku's grief all the worse. A mother who had clung to her son desperately, yet helpless to do anything but hold him and try in vain to soothe his terror – for the first time Saku had seen clearly the world from which her young friend had come.

She had never met Shunsui's real family before – only the cold, austere Uncle from whom the boy had so loved to escape, and she had assumed that the rest of the family were similarly distant. Shunsui had never let her see clearly how much being separated from his birth mother had hurt him, after all. His flippant remarks and carefree attitude had masked them from her. Yet in that moment she had realised the true tragedy of Shunsui's childhood – that he had been stolen from a mother who had loved him, to be used as a weapon of war by a man who did not.

_I misunderstood too, in the end, didn't I? All the things you said…yet to be taken from her as young as you were, when she loves you as much as all that. You weren't free either, __Shunsui__. Being Clan does not make you free after all, does it? I wish I'd understood that more clearly. No wonder you looked to me for escape. _

Once Shunsui's fever had broken, on Tokutarou and Retsu's insistence, Yoshiko had retired to a nearby chamber to sleep off the exhaustion and trauma of the previous night. Tokutarou himself had gone to speak to the aging Headmaster, and, Saku presumed, to send a message back to his kin in District Eight to say that his brother was now out of danger. Retsu had also offered her a place to sleep, but Saku had politely refused, saying that Midori would probably come for her early and she would be better off being ready to leave.

But truly she had just wanted to linger here a moment longer, assuring herself that her old friend was going to live before leaving him forever. There was no harm in it, after all – to give in to her feelings just once if he was sleeping and unaware.

She touched a gentle finger to his cheek, relieved to feel that his skin had cooled from the raging fever of the previous night.

_You broke __Seimaru-sama's__ curse with your will to live…with the strength you have to fight back. I'm glad, __Shunsui__. __Because you were aimless and lost, when we were young.__ But if you found the will to fight back, that means you've found some purpose to live for. And that you're stronger now than you were then. Even though I shattered you – you've still managed to pull back together._

She turned, padding slowly across the floor towards the door of the tiny, secluded chamber.

_So then, goodbye, __Shunsui__-kun.__ For the last time – as we both walk towards the lives we've now chosen._

"Saku?"

Shunsui opened his eyes sleepily, pulling himself into a more upright position and at his movement the girl paused, turning from the doorway and casting him a hesitant glance.

"I thought you were asleep." She said softly. "Were you pretending all the time?"

"No." Shunsui shook his head, pulling his blankets more tightly around him as he leant back against the wall. "I was sleeping. But I felt you leaving...And I didn't want you to go that easily."

"I was going to slip out while you were resting." Saku glanced at her hands. "I hoped that you wouldn't know I was here - it's too complicated otherwise."

"What does that settle?" Shunsui asked softly, and Saku raised an eyebrow, eying him pensively.

"What's to be settled?" She asked simply. "You and I were friends, we grew up, things changed. There's nothing left undecided. No matter what you say or think or do, we're oceans apart and we always will be. I'm not coming back to District Eight. I don't belong there any more."

Shunsui was silent for a moment, then he extended a hand, beckoning to her gingerly. His cautious movement told Saku that he was still in pain, even though he was much recovered from the night before, and she sighed, reluctantly heading back across the room and grasping his fingers loosely in hers.

"Don't push yourself." She said quietly, gently pushing his arm back down onto the bedclothes. "I'm here. I know if I leave now you'll only try and follow me, and nobody will be happy if you get worse again, not after last night. So I'll humour you, just this once. Just words though, Shunsui. Whatever you have to say to me - I'll hear it. But that's all. All right? You won't change my mind about anything, after all."

"I wasn't going to try and talk you into coming back to District Eight." Shunsui shook his head slowly. "To be honest, I thought...you'd come to hate me, to tell you the truth."

"Hate?" Saku started, then she smiled ruefully, shaking her head.

"For what?" She asked him lightly. "What have you ever done to me, Shunsui, to make me hate you in any way?"

"Because we were friends, you lost your home and because I acted too late, your Father died." Shunsui said frankly, pain in his dark brown eyes, and despite herself Saku sighed, reaching across to brush the stray strands of messy brown hair off his sweat-soaked brow.

"You didn't make the decision that evicted us. I know that. I always have." She said gently. "And if you've been blaming yourself for it all this time, you're more of a fool than I ever thought you were. Your Uncle decided, and I was never angry at you for it. Even if I seemed that way...I was always more angry at myself than at anything you did."

She frowned, resting her hand on his shoulder.

"Father's death was not your fault either." She added quietly. "You came and you tried to help us. Even if it was too late for him - that was something you didn't know and couldn't know. The important thing was that you tried."

"And you told me seeing me was painful for you. That it was best we didn't meet again." Shunsui reminded her. "You broke my heart, Saku-chan. It wasn't a very nice thing to do, if I'm honest about it. It hurt quite a lot, that did."

"You idiot." Saku said matter-of-factly, and Shunsui's eyes widened, a flicker of surprise in his gaze as he registered the more familiar, light-hearted manner of speech that had once been the norm between them. "I told you that because I didn't want to see you. Because if I didn't see you, I couldn't break my resolve. I couldn't change anything. I said it because I was too much in love with you to be near you, and too much in love with you to harm your position by being near you. It's like I said before - we're oceans apart. Socially, in ways we never realised. Whatever you think, however I feel - that's how it is in society's eyes. I have too much pride to simply be a Lord's mistress. And you have too much to do in this world without me dragging you back. So I cut the strings. I parted us permanently. It was the only thing to do."

"I think that's what made it hurt so much." Shunsui admitted, rubbing his face in his hands, then lowering his fingers with a sigh. "Because it made sense. And it still makes sense. I wasn't going to ask you to come back to District Eight. I know you wouldn't, even if I begged you. And even though I don't care anything for family reputation, I don't want you to think I have no respect for your honour. You take it seriously. I know that."

"When you have nothing else, pride and honour become more important than ever." Saku said gravely. "They can't be bought and sold, and they can't be polluted or tainted by corruption or greed. They're the only things a child is born with and dies with, Shunsui. Their honour and their pride."

"There you go again." Shunsui pursed his lips. "Spouting all that adult stuff."

"In a very short time I will be, in the eyes of all of Seireitei. Though in truth I think I came by that situation a long time ago." Saku cast him a wry smile, fondness in her gaze as she eyed his dishevilled form. "I didn't expect us to meet up how we have. But if you aren't going to ask me to come back to District Eight, what are you going to do? If you know you can't keep me, why do you want me to stay?"

"You helped Mother to nurse me last night." Shunsui said softly, and Saku reddened.

"You knew that?" She demanded, and Shunsui nodded.

"I'm quite quick at identifying trifling things like reiatsu. And touch, too." He agreed. "I'm grateful, though, Saku-chan. And I was...happy, too. That you felt that you wanted to do that - even considering how things have been between us."

"Well, no matter what common sense says, I still love you and I still have memories that I can't suppress." Saku sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm resigned a little more, now, to always feeling this way. But even if it's difficult for us to be even friends now, I...I suppose I can't let go completely. And I didn't want you to die. It's a woman's instinct, after all, to care for those she loves."

"Are you saying men don't have that instinct?" Shunsui raised an eyebrow, and Saku grinned.

"You're much better already." She said, relief flooding her dark eyes. "But no, I don't think it's quite the same thing with men. Men protect, women care."

"Do you think so?" Shunsui was surprised, then, "I'm not so sure Midori-sama would agree with you."

"Perhaps not." Saku acknowledged. "But either way I suspect the end result is often the same."

She eyed him quizzically.

"You just wanted to thank me, for doing that?"

"No. I wanted us to talk." Shunsui shifted himself more comfortably, bunching the blankets up around him as he suppressed a shiver. "Even if I still feel lousy, I don't want you to disappear without it. I was curious, after all, about your choice of duties. Are you happy, then, assigning your life to Midori-sama's whims?"

Comprehension flooded Saku at this, and she nodded.

"You're worried about me." She murmured. "That District Two isn't a safe place - that Midori-sama isn't a safe person to involve myself with. That I might find myself doing things that you don't think I should do - or that I might be in danger if I choose that path. Is that it, Shunsui? You worry about my future even now?"

"It's like you said. I don't want you to die either." Shunsui said evenly. "Well? I wanted to hear it from you. If it's your choice - if you're happy and you're safe in that decision - there's nothing more for me to say about it. But yes, I was worried. The Shihouin are a complicated Clan - and Midori is capable of violent acts."

"I know those things." Saku smoothed the skirt of her robe over her knees as she digested his words. "Shunsui, I've known that since before the last time we met. Midori-sama has made it perfectly clear to me what her values are. And bold and ruthless though they can be, she is not a woman who lies. Everything she has said, good and bad, she has not hidden from me."

She shrugged.

"I saw her kill one man. I knew she planned to slay your teacher, also." She admitted. "I stood by and let those things happen...even aided and abetted her in getting here and in concealing her whereabouts from the people nearby. I've already committed myself to her path - it's too late for me to turn back even if I wanted to."

At Shunsui's look of consternation, she smiled sadly, reaching across to touch his lips.

"Don't say it." She said quietly. "I know how you feel about death and murder and I know that you don't approve. But I'm not as firm as you in that respect. I've learnt to protect myself and that there are things I need to accept to keep myself alive and in a good position. Perhaps that's why I didn't want to speak to you, after all. I didn't think you'd like it, if you knew that even before this meeting I had agreed to become Midori-sama's apprentice. And I had accepted being taught whatever techniques she sought to teach me - even those which one might use to kill."

Shunsui eyed her for a long time, then he sighed, pushing her hand aside feebly with his own trembling fingers.

"And this is your choice? You want this?" He asked slowly. Saku nodded.

"In District Two, I can hold up my head high and take a position where I don't shame myself or my family." She said seriously. "I have changed, Shunsui. I'm not as carefree as I might have seemed when we were small. I'm a pragmatist and I know sometimes what has to be done. Yes, it's my choice. It's what I want. Even though it doesn't cure me of my feelings for you - it's a position whereby I'm not abused or beaten, and I don't have to live in fear or shame."

"Then I can only accept it, can't I?" Shunsui sighed again, and Saku smiled despite herself.

"I don't need your approval." She reminded him gently. "But that said, I'm glad you're not going to try and talk me out of it. You wouldn't succeed, after all. This is my path. You have yours, too, now."

She gestured to the room around them.

"You belong to this Academy. Your future is here, and then out in Seireitei, protecting people like your Father did." She continued. "You have a lot of power, Shunsui. A lot of potential. That you're still alive despite Seimaru-sama's curse is proof of that fact. It wasn't a light spell, and it wasn't a hex that could be broken by anything except your fighting back. So I know that you'll be an amazing Shinigami, one day. One of Midori-sama's calibre, maybe - perhaps even beyond. And when that happens, I'll be proud to say that I was once someone you considered friend."

"There's no past tense in that sentence, Saku." Shunsui reached across to clasp her hands in his weak fingers, meeting her gaze head on. "Whatever your views on the matter, you've always been my friend. You always will be. You were my first friend and you were the one who I looked up to when I had no one and nothing else to look up to."

He smiled ruefully.

"I think we both misunderstood a lot of things about each other's lives." He added regretfully. "But I don't want to go back and change our friendship then, even so. They're nice memories, after all. I like them. And I'm going to hang onto them as long as I can."

At the look on his face, Saku swallowed hard, tears pricking at the back of her eyes.

"Me too." She admitted. "Even though I try to forget them. Midori-sama said that it might happen, eventually, that she'll find someone suitable for me to marry, and if she does, I won't turn it down. It doesn't matter, after all, who I marry. Maybe I'll come to care for them or maybe I won't, but I know Midori-sama won't choose someone who would hurt me."

She placed her hand gently against Shunsui's cheek, then,

"It's a pain, being in love with an idiot." She said resignedly. "Because no matter how much of an idiot he is, you can't help carrying on."

Shunsui laughed, wincing involuntarily as he jarred his aching body, and Saku let out an exclamation, reaching out to grasp him firmly by the shoulders.

"No laughing! Not while you're still weak." She ordered. "I'm sorry. I'll be more careful...just don't hurt yourself on my account, all right?"

"You really are worried about me, aren't you, Saku-chan?" Shunsui eyed her for a moment. "You know, I wonder how sick I really was last night. Was I really bad, then? It's all a blur to me. Was I really at death's door?"

"Mm. It wasn't nice. I don't really want to think about it." Saku said frankly.

"Bad enough for you to give me the kiss of life, perhaps?" Shunsui asked teasingly, and Saku started, then glared at him, putting her hands on her hips.

"You're malingering now. There's nothing wrong with you after all." She said bluntly. "I'm wasting my sympathy, aren't I?"

"On the contrary, Saku-chan, I'm still very weak and shaky." Shunsui assured her. "Though you don't have to wait for me to stop breathing, if you wanted to kiss me. After all, I'm sure that it could only boost my energy levels, if you did..."

"You are still as much of a cheeky brat as you were three or four years or so ago, when we were playing by the lake." Saku said frankly, pushing him back, and Shunsui grinned.

"Whoever said that was a game?" He demanded. "You're going away, and I won't see you again. Maybe not for a while, perhaps ever. That being the case, you could at least kiss me goodbye. I'm suffering, after all. Don't you have any pity for me at all, Saku-chan?"

"When you look at me like that, I want to slap you." Saku admitted. Then she relented, letting out a chuckle as his eyes became big and beseeching.

"You don't change." She murmured. "Even now you're the same silly fool you were then. Though I think you have a little more pride in yourself now. A little more strength than you had back then. You've stopped running away - maybe that's it. But even so I'm sort of glad - that you're still Shunsui, even though so much has happened since then. Somehow Shunsui-sama doesn't suit you...it doesn't suit you at all."

"I'm glad you've finally realised it." Shunsui grinned. "The way I was dressed, when you didn't even know me - I've not dressed as formally as that since and I cut my hair so as it wasn't long and noble any more. I don't want to be Shunsui-sama. Not from you, anyway. I don't believe in those oceans - so remember it, okay? Saku-neechan."

"I'll do my best not to forget it, Shun-kun." Saku's eyes softened. "Or you, saying it to me in that way - as though we'd never been parted at all."

She sighed, reaching across to ruffle her fingers through his tousled hair.

"Though you were handsome with long hair, you know. It suited you. You should grow it long again."

"Do you think so?" Shunsui looked doubtful, and Saku nodded, her cheeks reddening.

"As your neechan, it's my advice." She said frankly. "So you should pay good attention to what I tell you."

"I don't see why I'd start doing that now, when I never did as a boy." Shunsui's brow was tired and drawn, but there was a wicked sparkle in his dark eyes. "All right, Neesama. I'll do my best to keep it in mind."

"See that you do." Saku murmured. "Because I won't be there to stitch your robes or help you escape your classes any more."

"No. No, you won't." Shunsui's gaze became grave. "I'm sorry about that, but I understand it, too. I'll just have to rely on Juu and the others to keep me on the straight and narrow - I'm sure between them they'll make something worthwhile out of me."

"I'm sure they will." Saku smiled, tears on her lashes. "Judging by Ukitake-san's mode of attack, I don't think you'll be allowed to sit idle for long."

She paused, then hesitantly bent her head towards him, kissing him gently on the cheek.

"I don't know when we'll be leaving, or when you and I might meet again. If ever." She admitted. "I don't intend on leaving District Two for some time, when we return there...and there will be much to do because things there are unsteady. So I'll grant your wish a little bit, Shunsui-kun. For old time's sake."

"For old time's sake." Shunsui echoed, reaching up a finger to brush his cheek. He smiled, nodding his head, and Saku could see the emotion in his dark eyes.

Despite herself she felt relieved.

"Maybe we did need this talk, after all." She reflected out loud. "Maybe there were still things we both needed to say."

"And maybe both of us needed to face up openly to how things are." Shunsui added. "Whatever our feelings, now we part. And we'll stay parted. Because, in the eyes of Seireitei, we're from different worlds."

He pursed his lips, and Saku saw uncharacteristic resolution enter his dark gaze.

"But we _will _change that." He said firmly. "Juu is just the start, after all. Juu and the others from the Districts. It's going to be a revolution, and the hierarchy won't matter so much, one day. It might not be something you or I live to see happen, but we can begin it all the same. Juu's said it time and time again - if you don't like something, change it. Don't just live with it and moan. So maybe that's become my resolution. Maybe that's why I stopped running away. Because running away gets people hurt and killed. I'm not going to do it any more. I'm going to try and make a difference - even if it's only a really small one."

"Considering it's you, I doubt it'll be small." Saku told him ruefully. "But if that's the case then I'm glad. You looked shattered into pieces the last time we spoke, but now you don't seem like that at all. And I...I cried for three days after you left the house, over you and over Father. But now I don't feel empty or hollow any more. We've grown up and we've parted, but in the end we haven't grown apart, have we? They're different things...and I hadn't realised it till now."

"Friends are still friends even with distance between them." Shunsui nodded. "Nii-sama says that a lot - it's something Kyouki-sama told him when he left District Five. So I'll say it to you, now. We'll be friends even parted - all right?"

"All right." Saku agreed.

"Even if the Shihouin and the Kyouraku go to war with one another?"

"Even so." Saku nodded. "Because I'm not Shihouin, and you wouldn't fight in a pointless war between noble houses."

"Too true." Shunsui acknowledged. "All right then. It's settled."

He frowned.

"But I do wish I could have done something to help you, after Uncle kicked you out." He admitted. "I did nothing and I couldn't see anything to do. But I didn't like it. And even the medicine..."

"The medicine you gave me came in very handy, as it happens." Saku smiled, shaking her head. "The border between Seventh and Eighth has been fortified for a long time. But one of the men guarding it from the Endou side had a wife who was very sick from the same complaint that had wracked through our town. In return for my passage into District Seven, I traded the medicine to him. So it helped to save someone, no doubt. And it helped me to get to the place where I met Midori-sama and found my own path. So you did help me, Shunsui, in the end. Just in a way you didn't expect."

"Really?" Shunsui looked surprised, then he smiled. "Well, I'm not sure I'm happy that I was part of you getting dragged into Seimaru's web somehow - but if you're happy over it, I won't argue with you."

Saku shrugged.

"I don't regret it. I work for Midori-sama, and she has no intention of working with the man who hurt you." She said simply. "She hates him, and now, so do I."

"But she didn't kill him, did she?" Shunsui's eyes became grave, and Saku shook her head.

"I…don't think so." She admitted. "I don't know for sure what happened…but if she had, it would have been a big fuss. And well…Tokutarou-sama was quite clear about taking vengeance against him if you died. So…Seimaru-sama must still be alive."

"It may be strange, but I'm glad that's the case." Shunsui admitted.

"Even though he would have killed you?"

"Mm. I'll remember for future reference not to play with men with fireswords." Shunsui looked rueful. "But yes. Midori-dono's way is violent, ruthless and effective – but with the Shihouin-ke so tentative, it could have ruined everything. And…"

He paused, and Saku's eyes softened.

"And that would put me in danger." She murmured. Shunsui nodded.

"You. Kai-kun. A lot of innocent people who aren't involved." He said soberly. "I don't believe killing solves anything, really. And I…he didn't kill me. It's better…that it's this way."

He paused, then,

"Midori-dono is here." He murmured. "I can sense her reiatsu in the grounds."

"Even wiped out, you can do that?"

"Once I know someone – yes." Shunsui was sad. "She's come to take you away, hasn't she?"

"Probably." Saku agreed. "And to speak to Genryuusai-sama about what happened yesterday. Then we'll leave."

"Then good luck, I suppose." Shunsui managed a faint smile. "We'll both do our best to move forward – and let's see where it takes us."

"For the time being, you should probably rest." Saku said firmly. "You might not remember last night, but other people will. And how close you came to making it your last, too. You look tired and you're obviously still hurting. Go back to sleep…you probably need that more than anything else."

"Maybe." Shunsui acknowledged, obediently slipping further beneath the blankets and resting his head on the makeshift pillow. "I don't feel like doing much else. I just wanted to speak to you…before you were gone and I didn't get a chance to."

"Well, you have, and things are fine." Saku told him firmly. "So I'll leave you to be the invalid. Try not to worry about me, Shunsui. I promise you – I'm strong enough now to be all right."

"Let's hope that I am too." Shunsui murmured drowsily, closing his eyes, and for a moment Saku just watched him, a bittersweet sense of affection washing over her.

_Onwards and forward towards the lives we choose to lead. We did need to talk like this – and now we can move on. Sweet dreams, __Shunsui__. Rest well and become that __Shinigami__ everyone expects you to be. There are a lot of things for you to do here, after all…and it'll be better done now that you don't have to worry about me any more._

With that she turned on her heel, crossing the chamber to the door and silently letting herself out.

_Now my duty is to Midori-__sama__ and returning to District Two. There will be much for me to do and I must be equal to that task. For now, __Shunsui__ has to be forgotten…for now, I have my obligations too._

* * *

"In the end, Amaki, it seems you were proven wrong."

In the silence of the sickroom, a faint, feminine voice echoed out, as glimmering particles of sunlight danced together into a mottled pattern across the walls.

"Well? He wants to fight after all. I told you it was reckless…diving in like that and pulling him about."

"I did what I had to do." From the shadows, a darker, more acerbic voice contested, prickling at the edge of the blackness as sun and shade collided across the wooden sickroom floor.

"Did you? I wonder about that. I wonder if it was necessary, acting like that."

Like droplets of light, the female voice continued to chastise. "Being so ruthless with one still so young."

"He's babied and mollycoddled far too much." The shadow countered. "He always has been, and he's lazy and irresponsible because of it. I won't serve a coward, Seibara. No matter how much I'm meant to be loyal to him – I will not."

"He's not a coward. He took the injury to protect his friend." The sunlight glittered over the grooves and lines of the wood, forming a petal-like pattern against it's polished surface. "That's something that should be nurtured. He's been alone a long time, after all."

"A solitude he's chosen. He was the one who decided that."

"Even so, I think you're cruel, taunting him."

"Yes. I'm cruel. I'm going to continue to be cruel." A faint buzz of energy darted across the shadow that hung stubbornly behind the shutters and beneath the sill. "Understand it, Seibara, because I don't mean to change my attitude. Do you want to end up like Tensonshin? Do you want that fate to be our fate too?"

At this, the bright iridescence of the flower-petal light faltered slightly, and there was the faintest of sighs on the morning wind.

"No." The voice murmured, her tones mournful. "You know I don't want that."

"Then listen to me." Returned the shadow. "Shunsui is strong. We know that. Spiritually, he has the power to summon us and if he applied himself, he'd find a way to do that most probably before he reaches full adulthood. But he's lazy and slow and reluctant to fight. And he runs away. Whatever the reason he took the injury, he tried to run from it. I interfered because he sought death instead of fighting. And that's always been his attitude. The boy who would sit and let his brother kill him rather than fight for his own life."

"That was loyalty. Not laziness," countered the light. "But you're right in one way. He is slow. And till now, he's shut us away. Till this point…we've never been able to reach him in any way at all."

"His weakness opened that door. It allowed me through and I won't let him barricade it again so easily." The shadow vowed. "You shouldn't either, Seibara. He needs both of us – not just me – and he needs us to take a hard line with him – not cosset and fondle him as though he was the centre of our universe."

"He is." The light flickered purposefully. "But it's all right. I don't feel the same way as you do – but I don't intend on making his path easy. It shouldn't be easy. It should be earned. You needn't worry about me being soft on him, Amaki. In the end, perhaps, I'll be the hardest of us both when it comes to giving up my power. I'm fond of him, after all. I'll want him to do his very best to prove himself."

There was silence, as little by little beams of light began to penetrate the darkness.

"Yes. Maybe you're right." The shadow reflected. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to underestimate you."

"You were angry. With good cause." Came the response. "He was about to give up. Had he died, I would have been cross too. I just wouldn't have been so aggressive and direct about it – that's all. He was lucky, maybe. He got you instead of me."

"If you feel like that, why didn't you confront him?"

"Because I had faith he would see sense and fight. And that we would not, in the end, be needed this time."

"On the contrary, I suspect, he had great need."

Genryuusai's voice pierced through the conversation, conducted as it was through the ether of Soul Society's spirit charged atmosphere, and at this clear interruption, the elements faltered, uncertain as to how to act now one had broken through to their midst.

The old man stepped into the chamber, bowing his head slowly.

"I cannot see you, but I can sense that you are there." He murmured. "Stray particles of something that Shunsui has no idea yet how to use, left to fly freely from him while he sleeps off his exhaustion. In all the time I've taught him, I've waited to sense you – and now, for the first time, I do."

"You cannot see us, but you can hear our words?" The shadow demanded, and Genryuusai nodded.

"I can sense your being here because I knew Tensonshin." He said gravely. "I trained the man who wielded your predecessor, and understood almost as well as he did how that blade was formed. Shunsui is Matsuhara's son, and I have felt it in his aura. Last night, to fight the curse, he called on his true power for the first time. He summoned you without knowing what it was he summoned, and called on you for help."

"It is not usual for anyone but the wielder of a sword to sense or hear the spirits of another." The woman's voice echoed curiously through the ether. "Who are you, Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama, that you can reach us like this?"

"It isn't me who does." Genryuusai's wizened grip tightened on his wooden cane. "Ryuujinjakka and I have worked so long together that it is easy for my thoughts and his to merge and become fluid in one. Because of him, I can hear you. Because fire called you out, I am ever more aware of you - and that boy's lack of knowledge and control means that you fly more freely into the ether than if he had summoned you there in the usual way. But Ryuujinjakka knew you were there. And because he hears you, so do I."

"Ryuujinjakka." The shadow murmured, and Genryuusai nodded.

"It is up to Shunsui to deserve to call on you." He continued. "And I won't ask you to be lenient, or submit to him before he is ready to wield your power. On the contrary, the more difficult the path, the more successful your bond will be. And I know well that, with that boy, it will be a difficult path. His mental state is such that he will make it harder for himself, trying to take the easy path. Still, even so, I have faith in him to get that far. And…I will ask you this one thing. Now that you have reached through to him…do not let him seal you away a second time. Whether you chastise him or you don't – whether you train him or you don't – is a matter for you both to decide. But do not let him fall back into foolish ways. I seek to make a Shinigami of him – and for that, I need your help."

"He isn't ready for our active interference." The shadow said baldly. "This was a desperate situation, that's all. If he hadn't have gone back to face the fire, he would have died. Scaring him into going back was all I could do – it's not time to begin moulding him for battle yet. He doesn't care enough, yet. He hasn't reached that point."

"But the time isn't far away." Light darted across the wood of Genryuusai's stick as if exploring the power contained within. "And he's not the only one, either. You've felt it too, haven't you, Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama? You and your blessed firesword? The resonance of another sword spirit waiting to be risen and trained? It's exciting, in the end. I like this Academy. It means we won't be like Tensonshin. We won't be training alone."

"Shunsui is our concern. Nobody else is." The shadow muttered. "And he's far from proving himself ready to call us his, whatever any other students might or might not be doing. I'm not interested in playing with goldfish, Seibara. Not even if you are."

"They're not goldfish." The light protested. "One's black and one's white. How can they be goldfish if they're not gold?"

A faint smile touched Genryuusai's lips.

"I think you're wrong." He said frankly, eying the sleeping Shunsui with a thoughtful, pensive gaze."On the contrary, I think Shunsui needs Juushirou as much as he needs the both of you."

"I think so too." The light danced up and down Ryuujinjakka's cane, repeating its mottling effect across the smoothed wood. "They may be 'just fish'…but since Shunsui met that boy, his barriers against us have weakened. That's the true reason you were able to reach him, Amaki. Because he's not fighting so hard against his destiny now as he was. I think…we shouldn't dismiss Ukitake Juushirou or his_In'you_ spirits. As time goes on…I think we might cross paths with them more than once."

* * *

"The Shadow Cat has returned."

Ryuu dropped down onto the grass, casting his companions a resigned glance as he set his pile of books down beside him, stretching out his sheet of paper and skimming over the precise columns of kanji that already decorated the page. "I imagine that has something to do with you, Hirata - seeing as you went to the trouble of inviting her back."

"Midori-sama's come back here?" Enishi glanced up from his own haphazard pile of books, eying Ryuu in surprise. "Was she meant to? Did she come to see Shihouin, or...?"

"No. She's come to see Genryuusai-sensei." Juushirou said softly. "About what happened yesterday...to Shunsui...and about last night."

"Etsuo-san is also here, too." Hirata ageed, hugging his knees to his chest. "Midori-sama won't leave her behind in District One - I'm pretty sure about that."

"Etsuo-san was still with Kyouraku when we left him last night." Enishi remembered, giving up on his attempts at writing and dropping his brush down onto the grass with a sigh. "It's no good. I can't put thoughts down onto paper like you can, Kuchiki - you've written reams already and I've barely managed my name."

"That somehow does not surprise me." Kuchiki eyed Enishi for a moment, then offered him a faint smile. "But it was a noble act to come with us, in any case - so if you want me to help you, I will."

"Kuchiki-kun?" Hirata stared at him, and Enishi gaped, looking bewildered.

"Are you serious?" He demanded. "You have a whole load to write yourself - are you sure you want to help me...?"

"Yes. I will help you." Ryuu agreed calmly. "And by helping you, it will further emphasise the fact that I'm not helping Shihouin Kai. He can sit upstairs and write his own essay - after all, he is as responsible for all of this as any of us."

"Kuchiki-kun..." Juushirou sighed, rubbing his temples, then, "Well, if you help Houjou-kun, I suppose it's all right. Hirata and I didn't get assignments - I feel somehow worse that we didn't, given what happened."

"Your punishment was worse." Enishi cast them a sympathetic grin, and Juushirou nodded.

"Even though we had a message this morning to tell us Shunsui survived the night, I didn't sleep at all when we were sent away." He admitted, rubbing his temples. "I was trying all night to pick up Shunsui's reiatsu - to keep tabs on it, to make sure he was still alive."

"I don't think you were the only one who didn't sleep." Enishi said quietly. "I can't feel his reiatsu at all, really - but I didn't rest much last night, either."

"None of us did, in the end." Ryuu sighed, setting down his brush. "And my body still aches. I will not be casting illicit Kidou for some time to come, let me tell you."

"It wasn't the Kidou that was the cause. It was my recklessness." Juushirou said firmly. "I know it, Sensei knows it - Shunsui knows it, too. It's not anyone else's fault but mine. I should have gone back and found help - but I was tricked by Seimaru's snare and I put myself in danger. If I had thought it through, Shunsui wouldn't have been hurt."

"What about you, Hirata? Are you staying here for good now?" Enishi cast the younger boy a quizzical glance, and Hirata nodded his head.

"There's nowhere else for me to go." He murmured, a note of wistfulness in his quiet tones. "I don't have a family to go back to, right at the moment."

"You can't go home at all?" Enishi frowned, and Hirata shook his head.

"If I did, right now, Seimaru would find a way to hurt me." He said softly. "Besides, Endou-ke are not welcome in District One. If I go home, I'm acknowledging myself with them. Even though there are things I can't...really talk about...I've made my decision that way."

He fingered his throat for a moment, then,

"Sensei has my pendant. My crest is no longer in my custody, and I am no longer representing the Endou-ke." He said soberly. "I'm Endou Hirata in name alone. I told Sensei that I wanted to get stronger...strong enough to return my Clan pride and to be of use to Seireitei and District Seven. He said I could stay - that he would teach me and make me a Shinigami. So here we are. It seems it'll be a longer time before I see my family than I thought."

Juushirou shot him a glance, but there were no tears on the boy's lashes, and he sighed.

"I feel responsible for that, too."

"No. On that count the blame lies entirely with the disgusting behaviour of Endou Seimaru." Ryuu said categorically. "We all know it, but as there is no evidence, we cannot do anything about it."

Hirata looked troubled, but said nothing, and at his expression, Juushirou decided to also remain quiet on the subject of the letter.

"Do you think we'll be allowed to see Shunsui?" He said instead. "When his family are gone, of course - I wouldn't intrude on them right now."

"Genryuusai-sensei has also visited him this morning." Ryuu added. "I saw him heading that way as I brought my books outside. So surely we will know more about his exact condition soon."

"I would think so. And if he's okay, we'll get to see him." Enishi nodded his head. "Remind me to tell him that if he ever sees that Seimaru guy again, he should run."

"I wonder about that." Hirata looked pensive, and Ryuu shot him a quizzical look.

"About what?" He demanded sharply. "Surely after all that has happened you do not expect Kyouraku to face your cousin again?"

"No. No, that will be my duty, when I'm strong enough." Hirata said matter-of-factly, and for the first time Juushirou saw a hint of the warrior in the thin boy's frame. "I just...curses aren't usually placed in the same way twice - are they? Nobody's ever survived Seimaru's curse before, so it's difficult to know for sure...but...I wonder if..."

"If Seimaru can't curse someone he's already cursed once?" Juushirou asked, and Hirata nodded.

"I don't know." He repeated. "But...maybe. Since the curse is a matter of wills, after all. And Kyouraku-kun has already broken Seimaru's desire to kill him. I don't think that his body would succumb to it again. He's probably immune."

"But unlikely to want to test the theory." Ryuu said acerbically. "Given the results this time around."

"No kidding." Enishi said fervently.

"So if Genryuusai-sensei is with Shunsui, who's Midori-sama with?" Juushirou wondered. "Because Kuchiki-kun is right. She is here. I can feel her reiatsu too."

"That is a foolish question indeed." Ryuu said frankly. "Why do you suppose I left the dorm and came to work outside?"

"Because you and Shihouin were trading more insults than you were writing words?" Enishi asked lightly, and Ryuu offered a sardonic smile.

"Other than that." He acknowledged. "No. Because I felt the approach of a nasty black cat on the stair, and I decided it was better to make myself scarce before I found myself in the midst of a Shihouin reunion."

"She went to the boy's dorm?" Hirata's eyes almost fell out of his head, and Enishi grinned.

"She came to see her brother first, huh." He reflected. "When you say stuff like that, Kuchiki, it makes me think of her as something other than the wench who killed our Hohou teacher."

"What Midori-sama has done and who she is aren't necessarily the same." Juushirou stretched his arms, leaning back on the grass. "I think that can be true with a lot of people. And she's definitely one of them. She came back to see Kai as well as to see Sensei. She didn't get to speak to him before - so we're better off being out here, if that's the case. Though I'm glad you came to join us, Kuchiki-kun. You might have gone to the library - but I'm happy you came here instead."

Ryuu did not answer for a moment, then he shrugged.

"It is a warm day." He said evenly. "And the library would not be so pleasant as sitting under a tree."

"Maybe." Juushirou was not to be dissuaded. "But I've been thinking, though."

He reddened, remembering Genryuusai's words.

"Sensei said some things to me yesterday which made me think a lot." He admitted. "And last night, when I couldn't sleep, I went over them in my head, trying to make them sink in. I don't know how true they are, and I don't think...they're things I want to discuss. But it did make me realise that Class One is a unit - isn't it? More or less, anyhow. We're friends with one another. When Hirata vanished, we worried. We all searched for him - everyone chipped in and lent a hand. And now, with Shunsui ill, everyone was worried about him, too. Houjou-kun and Shihouin-kun wanted their share of the blame, because it was a team effort to use that spell. And...it's just...I think it's a good thing. It seems an obvious thing to say - but I'm glad."

"_Everyone_...was worried about me?" Hirata looked startled, and Juushirou nodded.

"Everyone." He confirmed. "You're just as valid a member of the group as anyone else, after all."

"Ukitake's right." Enishi grinned. "Even if you can't go home, you do still have us. And we're not swayed by the political decisions of our elders - here is just school, after all."

"Such promises are not so easy for a Kuchiki to make." Ryuu admitted. "But at present there is no active ill will between the Endou and the Kuchiki-ke. I believe that to be because we consider them largely disgusting - but in Hirata's case, I think, a clear exception has to be made. Even if he does associate with Shadow Cats."

Hirata reddened.

"I trust Midori-sama." He said firmly. "If I hadn't have done this time, Kyouraku-kun would have died."

"Well, everybody has their flaws." Ryuu said resignedly. "I will not hold it against you."

"Fine words from a Kuchiki indeed."

A voice from the clearing behind startled them, and they swung around, hearing a peal of amused laughter as a slender figure stepped into the light.

"Midori-sama!" Juushirou exclaimed, and Midori nodded, her gaze flitting between each of the students briefly in turn.

"It's been a while, Ryuu-kun." She said softly, bowing her head towards him, and Ryuu snorted, shaking his head.

"Not long enough, evidently." He said quietly. "Well? Did you see your brother? You do know that women are forbidden from entering the male dormitories, I trust? Though I suppose rules are not applicable for shadow cats."

"Not this Shadow Cat." Midori agreed lightly. "I had permission to go there, since Kai is forbidden to get up. And I was worried about him - so we had a chance to speak at long last."

"Did you not come to speak to Genryuusai-sensei?" Hirata looked confused, and Midori nodded.

"Genryuusai-sama was most obliging." She said quietly. "The border patrols did not want to let me return to District One, so he came personally to see me across. We have spoken about many things...not least the events that now have seen the Endou-ke barred from District One. I am glad that Shunsui-dono is alive still - and also, Hirata, to see you here, where you rightly belong."

"I'm not going back." Hirata said firmly. "I already told you, didn't I? I can't and I won't."

"In that school _hakama_, with your glasses, you look much more the boy than you did yesterday." Midori observed. "But in your eyes, it hasn't changed. Your resolution is still there - I'm glad."

"Genryuusai-sensei's become your ally, then, has he?" Ryuu's lip curled. "I see."

"Not my ally." Midori shook her head. "But he is grateful that I helped prevent the deaths of two students yesterday by intervening when I did. He supports me as the new Head of the Shihouin Clan - but that is so far as it goes. I have come to get Saku - then I will leave. But before I do, I hoped to speak to Hirata and Juushirou about a couple of things."

"To both of us?" Juushirou was startled, and Midori nodded.

"If you don't mind." She agreed. "I may not get another chance, after all. I will be very busy, now, with things as they are in District Two."

Hirata got to his feet.

"Ukitake-kun, you don't have to come if you don't want to." He said quietly. "But I'll go - Midori-sama came on my asking, after all."

"It's all right. I'm coming with you." Juushirou assured him, pulling himself upright and nodding his head. "Kuchiki-kun said he was going to help Houjou-kun with his assignment, after all - we'll leave them in peace to work."

"Be careful, Ukitake." Ryuu said acidly. "You never know what you might get when you deal with an assassin."

"Well, well, he's still as stiff and Kuchiki as ever, that one, isn't he?" Midori reflected in some amusement once they were out of earshot. She raised her hands over her head, stifling a yawn, but Juushirou was not fooled by her apparent casual behaviour.

"Things are serious in District Two, Midori-sama, aren't they?" He murmured, and Midori nodded.

"They are, but you needn't worry about them. They are my problems now, and I will solve them." She said evenly. "Rightly or wrongly, the Shihouin-ke will move forward. I've made it clear to the investigators that we will cooperate with them fully, after all. My Clan may have secrets, but I have nothing to hide. Tomorrow I will stand before the Council and attempt to be formally recognised as Head of the Shihouin Clan. I don't feel it will be a problem to achieve - then the real work will begin."

She glanced around, then,

"I will attract attention here. Is there somewhere we can speak in privacy?"

"The gymnasium." Juushirou suggested. "It's closest, and nobody has a class there at the moment. We could quite easily get inside and talk for a while in there."

He gestured to the big stone building, and Midori's expression lightened.

"Very well." She said, relieved. "Lead the way."

"So why did you come to speak to us, Midori-sama?"

Once the three were safely inside the stone structure, Hirata raised the question. "If things are busy - why hunt us down especially?"

"Because of something you mentioned to me before we parted ways." Midori said gravely. "The letter you took from Aitori's house. The one that implicates Seimaru."

"The letter..." Hirata bit his lip, and Midori frowned.

"Do you no longer have it?"

"I've been hiding it somewhere secure at the school." Hirata shook his head. "But I've been thinking about it, too. In the long run, it can't stay here. Even if where I've hidden it is quite secure, it's still not perfect."

He pinkened.

"I used a basic _kyakkou_ to conceal it." He murmured. "But I don't know how long that might last, and...other people might come across it if the spell breaks."

"I still can't get over you using Bakudou so easily." Juushirou reflected. "But I suppose...it makes sense that you'd do it that way."

"I never thought of it as using Bakudou. Just as a trick my father taught my sister and I to survive at home." Hirata smiled faintly. "That's all."

"I meant to ask you before - are the Shihouin mentioned in this letter, other than Aitori?" Midori asked softly, and Hirata shrugged.

"Not specifically by name." He replied. "The Clan is, but no one in particular."

"Then this seems to be a very damning letter indeed from Seimaru's perspective."

"Yes, but its also a dangerous one from Hirata's, too." Juushirou said quietly. "So that's why we've kept it secret."

"It's all right." Midori smiled. "I have no desire to bring harm to Misashi-dono or his family. Hirata's one I consider my true sworn ally, after all, and I owe Misashi-dono for his help when I was in District Seven. It's not that I'm thinking about. It's something else."

"Something else?" Hirata looked wary, and Midori nodded.

"You make sure you do keep that letter safe." She murmured. "Because its existence proves Seimaru was working with Aitori. It spreads the seeds of suspicion outside of the Shihouin and actually provides _proof_ of it. It doesn't need to be shown to have power. If he knows that it hasn't been destroyed – if he knows that people have it – he can be manipulated."

"He knows." Juushirou looked guilty. "I told him it did. I'm truly sorry for that, Hirata-kun. I really wasn't thinking about what I was saying."

"It's all right. He doesn't know who has it or where it is." Hirata assured him.

"Then I should give him the impression that _I_ have it." Midori decided. "That you gave it to me as part of the pact we made when you came to ask for my help. Because it is valuable information to have – not just for your safety, but for the safety of my family, too. So far, you see, the Noble Clans are divided over what to do about our Clan. Now that the truth has about Uncle's plans have spread across Seireitei like wildfire, everything is very tentative and my Clan have looked to me for support or leadership. But outside of District Two…"

"The death penalty." Juushirou whispered, and Midori nodded.

"Even though Genryuusai-sama has given me his support to lead the Clan, he has done so because I am not involved in the chemical experiments and seek to move away from them." She said softly. "I cannot guarantee that he would support a lighter sentence and he has a lot of sway where his Clan are concerned. Even if he did, the Yamamoto-ke suffered badly from the original experiments and as a result they're vehemently against this kind of violation. I can only imagine they would vote for death, if asked."

She sighed.

"The Urahara will want to distance themselves from their past mistakes and exiled kinsfolk, and so will also vote for death." She said resignedly. "Of course, my own vote will be omitted, so the Shihouin will have no say in these proceedings. The Kuchiki hate the Shihouin and will probably not show any mercy, simply on account of the fact if it was reversed, they would expect us to act the same way. That is three votes for death."

"But the other Clans…?" Juushirou murmured, and Midori nodded.

"The Unohana will vote against. They always do. They don't believe in capital punishment." She agreed. "And Retsu-sama is a level-headed leader. I believe I can reach out to Kyouki-sama and now that I've had dialogue with Tokutarou-sama, I feel fairly confident in securing the Kyouraku-ke's clemency. Especially in light of the injury Shunsui-dono suffered - Tokutarou-sama has more or less indicated that he's willing to side with anyone who's siding against Seimaru in any respect. If that happens, it will make it three against three. With just the Endou vote yet to come."

"The Endou are Shihouin allies, though, officially." Hirata frowned. "Seimaru would not want to face questions raised by their refusal to support you publically – surely?"

Midori let out a humourless laugh, shaking her head.

"You are my ally, and Misashi-dono also, maybe. But I have slighted your Clan's heir by renouncing my engagement to him and leaving in such circumstances." She said softly. "Not only that, I released my blade and fought him weapon to weapon. He knows you've worked with me, and he will not forgive it easily. No, he will seek to redress that balance, I think. Unless I have a way to change their minds, since I can't imagine them wanting to grant mercy to my Uncle or other kin in those circumstances."

She offered Hirata a smile.

"But you have a very precious letter." She said lightly. "And that letter is my key to winning Seimaru's support, as well as ensuring your safety at the same time."

"My safety?" Hirata stared, and Midori nodded.

"That is the other reason I came to speak to you." She agreed. "Because of the assault on Shunsui-dono, the Endou-ke have been barred from District One. You know that - you being the exception. You've said that you can't go home now, because if you do, the chances of you ever leaving again or being able to do anything to help your Clan get free from oppression will be virtually nil. So I propose to invite you to use District Two as your temporary accommodation. Since you are my ally, I would like to have you."

"To District Two?" Hirata gaped, and Midori smiled.

"Of course, not in term time. In term time, you will be here. Just as Kai will." She said lightly. "I discussed it with him when we spoke just now, and he is in full agreement that my idea is the best one. It would be a safe place for you to be while you can't be at home...that is my main thought."

"That would solve one problem at least." Juushirou pointed out. "I'd thought about you coming back with me, Hirata, but to do that you'd have to cross District Seven. Even on the wagon paths, you might be at risk if your Clan were looking for you. Midori-sama lives on the other side of District One, though. And you would be safe there, with her protection."

"Yes." A flicker of sadness crossed Hirata's expression, then he nodded.

"For the sake of my family, I really won't go home." He said resolutely. "I already told Sensei that my loyalty was to him and my training, not to Seimaru and his wiles. So thank you, Midori-sama. I will accept your kindness."

He sighed.

"Shihouin-kun said he'd help me with my Ouyoudou, when he was fit." He added. "Perhaps this will be a chance to do that."

"Yes. Yes, I would think it would." Midori grinned. "We're very good at martial arts, after all. You'll learn a lot, Hirata-kun. Believe me. I'm more than happy to help you train in our territories - since in the end Seimaru is our mutual enemy and a threat to both our families."

She pursed her lips.

"And as a sister rather than a Clan leader, I want to see Kai develop friendships outside of the Clan." She added. "He's not ever been able to do that, because our Clan weighs heavy on anyone's head. The Shihouin mindset is what's damaged us so fundamentally this time, and it's made his life extremely difficult so far. It's time to broaden horizons and seek new views – and for Kai to build alliances beyond District Two is important to me."

"As for Seimaru, do you think that having the letter will persuade him?" Juushirou asked. "I mean..."

"Well, I don't intend to negotiate. I intend to tell him and use the letter as a lever." Midori said matter of factly, and Juushirou frowned.

"You're going to blackmail him."

Midori nodded.

"Where the lives of my kin are concerned, Juushirou, there are a lot of things I'm willing to do." She said quietly. "Not all assassins always seek death. Remember that for the future. As a Shihouin, I'm honour bound to protect my Clan and die in their name. But I don't kill unnecessarily. That would make us as barbaric as Seimaru and his companions – and though we act in the shadows, we are not without morals."

Juushirou eyed her for a moment, then he smiled.

"I'd like to say that if it was my family, I'd find another way." He admitted. "But I'm not sure, if I was in your situation, that I'd do anything different. If it was to protect people I loved most of all – even if they'd done stupid, unforgivable things – I'd want to protect them."

"I'm glad to hear it." Midori offered him an amused grin. "That I have your approval, Juushirou-sama, and can proceed with my plans."

Juushirou reddened, holding up his hands hastily as he shook his head.

"I didn't mean it that way!" He protested. "I wasn't trying…I didn't…"

"No. You speak. I like to hear it." Midori shook her head, reaching out to put her finger to his lips. "Saku was the first, you are the second. I have never met District people as people before, and my Clan voted against teaching you because it knew nothing about you. But I do, now. I intend on teaching Saku myself, after all – and I can see why it is Genryuusai-sama invested so much in you, too. There is a straightforward honesty and loyalty that Clan intrigue has eroded from the upper classes and sometimes I tire of these war games between families."

She shrugged.

"The Shihouin are no longer going to vote against educating the lower classes, Juushirou." She added. "On the contrary, I hope to benefit from it myself once I am accepted into the Gotei and officially given leave to wear the Second District _haori_. Saku has made me curious as to how many more talented young people there are in my District. You said it yourself, didn't you? That it's time to understand the way those people think if I really want to rule it properly. I will take that advice and use it, I think. The Shihouin are going to be very different now I'm in charge. We'll go back to our roots, of course – but also, perhaps, make better use of the things we have around us."

Juushirou's lips twitched into a warm smile, and he bowed his head towards her in acknowledgement of her words.

"I'm glad to have been of help to you, Midori-sama." He said seriously. "I'm glad that my instincts bore out. It's the first time I've been involved in anything like this, after all – I'm glad that following my gut feeling can still be the right answer even if I'm way out of my social depth."

"You _are _as dangerous as people say you are." Midori reflected. "To the people who underestimate you or seek to ignore you. You're a figurehead for all District children everywhere…one who's broken through that social barrier and more, who deserves to have done so. I'm glad to have met you. I think that we may meet again often in the future – and I hope I can call you my ally those times as well."

"I hope so too." Juushirou admitted, and Midori smiled.

"But you won't compromise your principles for the sake of old alliances, will you?" She murmured, and Juushirou shook his head.

"I still don't like what happened to Aitori, and I'd find it difficult to accept it, if anyone else was killed that way." He admitted. "I agree with Shunsui on this. People shouldn't be killed. Hollows should be purified. Clans should uphold the law, not overrule it for their own ends. Aitori should have been charged and questioned and given a trial. That's what I think, even now."

"Though doing so may have compromised the lives of more people." Midori pointed out, and Juushirou sighed.

"Guilt and innocence seem blurred concepts in Clan hierarchy." He admitted. "I haven't quite figured out yet where the line is drawn."

"There probably is no line." Midori acknowledged. "But it's all right."

She cast Hirata a grin.

"_Juushirou_ would be the safest place, wouldn't he? To hide your letter where no one inappropriate could see it."

"Ukitake-kun?" Hirata's eyes widened, then he smiled, nodding his head.

"That's true." He murmured. "Ukitake-kun would never be swayed into using it for his own ends. And he'd keep it safe if he'd promised to do so. Besides, if people think it's with you, Midori-sama, nobody would think to search District Six for it. It would be safe, I think, if he had it."

Juushirou frowned for a moment, then he nodded.

"I'll take it." He agreed cautiously. "But only on the understanding that I can conceal it in a place that only I know about. And that when I do, it's only to be returned to Hirata's hands – nobody else."

"That seems fair to me." Midori nodded. "I don't need to have possession of it. Just to know in detail its contents. Would you permit me to see it, Hirata? I won't touch it if you don't want me to – but I'd like to quote his words back at him when we meet, so he knows that I am sincere."

"I'll go and get it." Hirata nodded, getting to his feet and disappearing from the gymnasium, leaving Juushirou and his companion alone.

"That boy is growing bolder, little by little, with each day." Midori murmured. "But I wonder…will he ever be strong enough to face and displace Seimaru?"

"He shouldn't have to." Juushirou replied, and Midori nodded.

"No. But the consequences if he doesn't may be dire for his kinsfolk." She replied. "Not to mention those who live in District Seven who have high reiatsu like you or even like Saku. Some have already been killed. Others have probably been experimented on in the perfection of this drug – even if Father balked at using live subjects, I can't imagine Seimaru cared. The Endou-ke will destroy itself eventually. Unless Hirata finds enough strength to overcome his cousin and cut the rotten wood away."

She shrugged.

"He will remain my ally, however, in times of need. I owe him and his people much." She responded. "I hope by offering him sanctuary in District Two I can do for him what he has done for me this time."

"Your Clan aren't revolting against you taking control so suddenly?"

"My Uncle is currently being kept a prisoner at his own home by representatives of the Yamamoto and Urahara Clans." Midori said frankly. "My Father and brother have submitted to them since Uncle's arrest, and my cousin has been detained at his tutor's property though at present he doesn't face active charges. Because Uncle has been arrested and because the evidence has been confirmed by the Urahara investigation team, he really has no choice but to relinquish the leadership of the Clan. If he doesn't do so before he's found guilty by the Council, they will take away his right to do so, and he realised this when I went home and laid it all before him. Kai and I are not directly involved. Therefore he's acknowledged me as his successor and I have promised him in return to do all I can to spare Aniue, Father and my cousin from the death penalty."

"Not himself?"

"As head of the Clan, my Uncle expects to die." Midori said sadly. "I will do my best for him as well, but in the end, he might choose to take all responsibility if it will help spare the others that surround him. He's made mistakes, but he trained me well and even though he sent me away, I am fond of him, too. We will see, I suppose. It may be enough if I can give my word that the facilities will all be destroyed and the guilty parties kept under supervision. But it may not."

"Midori-sama...what about...Onoe-kun?" Juushirou faltered, and Midori eyed him keenly.

"The way I hear it, that young idiot spouted all kinds of offensive ideas your way, and you put him neatly in his place." She said softly. "Even so, you're concerned for him?"

"I don't like him." Juushirou shook his head. "So worry might be the wrong word. It's just...for anyone so young to make a decision like that..."

"It was, once, a natural part of Shihouin training." Midori said gravely. "Kai and I were both taught that way, as well - to act, to be decisive, and to die rather than be taken prisoner. But I'm going to change that, too. Living agents are better than dead ones, and an agent who is trained properly should never spill a secret no matter how hard they are pressed. Good soldiers are hard to train and experience impossible to accrue in a suicide culture. I will not let any more Shihouin be needless sacrifices if it can be prevented."

She sighed.

"But I can't do anything for Tomoyuki." She admitted heavily. "If he recovers, it will be his own strength that will guide him back towards the light. His life force is faint - Genryuusai-sama has made it clear what he will be returning to me. I will take him home, and return him to his family. His father may denounce him - his mother probably will not. I will do my best to ensure he isn't killed by kin for shame of his deeds...but more I cannot do."

"I see." Juushirou's hazel eyes became clouded. "Life is easy to take for granted when you're young, maybe. I don't like him, maybe. But I do feel sorry for him. Poor Onoe-kun. He must have been very scared."

"You sound like an old man, speaking that way."

"Perhaps I do." A faint smile touched Juushirou's lips. "But it's just that death isn't that much of a stranger to me. I can't take life for granted when I don't know how much of it I have."

"How much of it you...?"

"I was born with a lung weakness, and I should have died at birth." Juushirou explained. "I don't know, now, how long my life will be. I might live a long time. I might not. My symptoms flare and I can't always control them...so I try to do as much as I can and not have regrets. That way, at least, if my life is short - there's no looking back in sorrow."

Midori offered him a smile.

"I see." She murmured. "I hadn't perceived it before. You don't carry yourself like a sick person, Juushirou. Even though you are thin and pale, I did not discern your illness from your reiatsu. You are a strong person - I don't think you'll see death any time soon. Not unless you go running to find it, by taking on situations you're not ready to handle."

She spread her hands.

"As for my position in District Two, you underestimate what the Shadow Cat is to the Shihouin." She said frankly. "For me to stake a claim to the leadership now, in a time of crisis, probably brings people more relief than it does anxiety. And Uncle...I think, in a way, he's a little relieved too. He was so struck with grief when he lost his children, and then so frightened about what it would mean for the Clan in the long run. Maybe in some ways it's why he trained me himself. He knows, I think, that I wouldn't turn on him. And he's counting on me now where he can't act himself."

"That will make Shihouin-kun your heir, won't it. Like Shunsui is to his brother."

"Yes. Until I marry, it will."

Midori smirked at this.

"And I won't be marrying Seimaru. Sadly, now I'm Head of the Clan, there's no longer any possibility of me being aligned with Tokutarou-dono…it's quite a pity, because aside from the political advantages he really is as handsome a man as I'd heard tell. But two Clan heads can't marry one another for fear of conflict over territory, so there it is. For now, I'll abstain. There's time for that, after all, in the future."

Despite himself Juushirou laughed.

"You might always ask Shunsui." He said innocently, and Midori snorted, reaching across to swat him playfully as a cat might swat at a branch.

"Now you are pushing your luck." She said frankly, but there was amusement in her eyes. "It's a good thing that I like you so much as I do, Juushirou-kun. Else I might have taken offence at you wilfully marrying me off to your friends like that."

"Sorry." Juushirou looked contrite, and Midori laughed.

"I rather like being teased." She admitted. "I never imagined I would be, but I'm finding that I do. Besides, Shunsui -dono would probably be as horrified as me by that suggestion. From what I've heard, he's not looking to marry, that one. And I believe his eyes are fixed in one direction - a line he cannot pursue."

"Etsuo-san." Juushirou said sadly, and Midori nodded.

"For her sake and his, I will separate them." She murmured. "Permanently, most likely. Saku will be my disciple, after all. She has a lot of potential and I can make good use of her. More, I can provide for her a stable future. A home. Perhaps even a husband and family as time goes on. A way, at least, to live in pride and independence without feeling beholden to any Clan. She will earn her keep, and hold her head up high. Even if they still have feelings for one another…to allow it to continue would be foolish and destructive to both of them. That is a line which must not be crossed, after all. Not yet, at least. Not in this unsteady social society."

"I think Shunsui knows that too." Juushirou admitted. "I don't know how he feels about Saku being with you – but I think at least he'd be glad she'll be safe."

"I left her here last night because I felt it best she had a chance to be near him one last time." Midori sighed, stretching her hands over her head once more. "I intend to leave soon, so I thought I'd be kind and give her a little time to say farewell. I'm soft-hearted, perhaps - but I think I can spare her that short spell with her old friend before work begins on saving my District. I didn't know last night if he would live - maybe they'll get to say a final goodbye, now that he's out of danger."

"I'm glad you think that way." Juushirou nodded. "When you've gone, I'll go see him - but I wanted to leave them a while, too. Tokutarou-sama said Etsuo-san stayed with Shunsui all night...I think it's right they get to talk before they say goodbye. For both of their sakes."

"Yes. It's the right thing." Midori agreed comfortably. "After all, who knows if they'll meet again?"


	40. Mirai E

**Chapter Thirty Nine: Mirai E**

"Somehow this seems the wrong way around."

Juushirou stepped into the Healing Bay, a wry smile on his lips as he met his classmate's teasing gaze from across the room. It was two days since that long evening when Shunsui's life had hung in the balance, and already it seemed an aeon ago. Though Shunsui was still pale and drawn, there was life in the boy's dark eyes, and despite himself Juushirou felt relieved to see it.

"It is the wrong way around." He said firmly, coming to sink down beside the bed. "And I'm sorry not to have come more quickly. But while your family were here, and Saku...I thought it would be fine to wait a day or two. I thought you'd want them more, after all, straight away."

Shunsui took a heavy breath into his lungs, making himself more comfortable against his pillows.

"I don't know how you do it." He admitted. "I really don't. I've been sick for only two days and already I'm fed up with it. Sleeping in loses its novelty when you feel rough - and I've been told I'm staying here for at least another week. Maybe two, depending on how quickly I heal. Even though the curse is broken, it left its mark - apparently I'm quite burnt inside, which, somehow, doesn't surprise me."

He sighed, then,

"I'm glad you're here, Juu-kun. Even feeling like this, I was beginning to get desperate. I was just debating whether or not I could slip out of the window without Unohana-sama catching me and punishing me with one of those disapproving doctor glares of hers."

"Unohana-sensei's glares?" Juushirou looked confused, then he shrugged.

"To be honest, I like it much less being this side of the equation too." He admitted. "Not being able to do anything - I hate that. This was my fault - all of it was my fault, whether you acknowledge it to me or not. Sensei was right when he said that the burden would be heavier because of that - I'll never forget as long as I live that my actions almost caused your death."

"I told you. Payback for the Hollow. We're even." Shunsui grinned at him. "Really. Don't worry about it. I decided to help you, and neither of us knew what we were dealing with."

"No..." Juushirou hesitated, then he shook his head, letting out a heavy sigh. "No. It's bigger than that. Shunsui, Sensei said something to me...about this...and I...wanted to talk to you about it a little, I think. If you're up to listening."

"My ears are about the only part of me not still chargrilled." Shunsui said wryly, a hoarse note in his tones. "Go ahead."

Juushirou bit his lip, carefully thinking over in his mind how to begin. Then he let out another heavy sigh.

"I was cross with you, when you protected me over Midori-sama." He said quietly. "I bull-headedly went into it regardless of what I did or didn't know, and it might have got me killed. You said things then - you tried to warn me - about what I didn't know about the Clans. And I didn't want to listen."

"I was probably taking it too far...maybe even smothering you." Shunsui looked startled. "Besides, this is old. We settled it. Why bring...bring it up again?"

"Because I did the same with Seimaru." Juushirou gazed at his hands. "Didn't I? I thought...Midori-sama...that went all right, and I could appeal to her better nature. And I...let Seimaru...it was because I didn't know what I was doing that you got hurt like you did. Even though you've said it, Shihouin-kun, Hirata and Kuchiki-kun all did...I still...acted on my own impulses. And almost got you killed."

He closed his eyes briefly, then,

"Sensei said the worst thing a Shinigami can do is put a comrade in danger because of his own shortcomings." He whispered. "And that if I can't see that...I'll never be a Shinigami he can depend on."

"He said what?" Indignation and shock flared in Shunsui's tired brown eyes. "Why would..."

"He's right, Shunsui." Juushirou met his friend's gaze. "He said that you protected me then because that's your Shinigami instinct to protect. And that Hirata went to Midori-sama because he understood the Clans. But I need to think...about the influence I have on other people. And I suppose...if that's the case...I do."

Shunsui was silent for a moment, then he grinned, reaching out a trembling hand to touch Juushirou's arm.

"You're fine as you are." He said quietly. "We all do crazy things. Yama-jii shouldn't have laid into you like that. You have your own justice - that's all."

"Not if it means people die because of me."

"But I'm not dead." Shunsui said matter-of-factly. "So let it go...all right? Don't look so broken up over it. Just, next time, think it out clearly. That's what Sensei's telling you. Find all the facts out first before you act. If he really thought you wouldn't make a Shinigami, he would never have told you anything at all."

"I guess I know that." Juushirou admitted. "But...it's not nice, knowing a good friend is fighting for his life because of something you did."

"I felt like that in the cave, after we faced that Hollow." Shunsui said frankly. "We're even. Clean slate. Move on. Okay?"

Juushirou was silent for a moment, then he nodded.

"Okay."

"Atta boy." Shunsui's eyes twinkled. "Besides, I'm still alive."

He coughed, closing his eyes briefly, then,

"Somehow."

"Your will to live was strong enough to pull you through." Juushirou reflected, and Shunsui nodded.

"A lot of people were trying to pull me through too, though." He murmured. "I felt it. Fleetingly. Bits and pieces of people's reiatsu. And I...I guess that's the only thing I had to cling on to. I don't remember much from the night I was really bad. Yesterday I remember - talking to Saku, having Mother fuss over me, and Tokutarou-nii tell me that if I ever do anything so stupid again he'll impale me personally on his _zanpakutou_. I think he was worried about me, too. But most of it...it's blurry. From the fight with Seimaru to waking up here - I guess maybe it's better that it's that way."

He grinned sheepishly.

"Mother wanted to take me home, but Unohana-sensei refused." He added. "I was glad, too. The last thing I want to do is travel - I don't think there's any part of my body that doesn't sting, ache or burn."

He rubbed his temples.

"You really are amazing though, Juu." He said seriously.

"Amazing?" Juushirou was taken aback. "In what way, exactly?"

"To have fevers, to cough and choke and feel like you can't breathe." Shunsui swallowed hard, then, "I've never been ill, not really. And never understood...even if I thought I did...what you go through. I remember only bits and pieces...but I know... in the forest, when I thought I couldn't breathe, you stopped me from panicking. You understood, didn't you? What it was that I was feeling."

"When I have an attack, I never like to be alone." Juushirou spoke soberly. "For the same reason. Having someone else nearby is comforting...and if I get into real difficulty, maybe they can help."

He shrugged, nodding his head.

"I understood." He agreed frankly. "I didn't like it, because I understood."

"And when Unohana-sensei first brought me u...up here, the shunpo...it made me cough." Shunsui rubbed his throat ruefully. "And I coughed...and coughed...till I was coughing b...blood and...I couldn't stop. Unohana...sensei had to use Kidou to calm me down. A lot of it, too. I was...I was scared, Juu. Really scared. And it hurt. A whole lot."

He sent his friend a sidelong glance.

"It felt like Death was clawing me away from the inside. Yet you dismiss it so easily. Like it's nothing." He murmured. "I know now, though. The truth is, it isn't nothing, is it? When you're feverish and silly, we all know about it. When you cough and spasm, it's obvious you're sick. But what you actually go through...and the rest of the time...you're never fully well, are you? Yet even so..."

"I'm me." Juushirou shook his head, holding up his hand to stop Shunsui in mid-sentence. "This is the only me I know. The only one I'll ever know. It's normal for me so I don't have a comparison and I don't need one. When I have an attack, then I'm ill. When I have a fever, I'm a little under the weather. Right now, I'm all right. This is fine for me. This is normal. Everyone's normal is different - that's all it is. It's not amazing really. Just status quo."

"But it isn't fair." Shunsui admitted. "And it makes me angry, thinking of it like that. You shouldn't have to go through that, ever. You work harder than I do. You complain less than I do. You care about people more than I do. And yet you have people like Onoe clawing at your reputation, when you're fighting some days just to get up and to class. I've seen it, a couple of times, but not really thought about it. That you've not been one hundred percent and fit. But..."

"I already told you. Stop it." Despite himself, Juushirou laughed. "You're thinking about this far too much, you know. I can't change it, fair or not. So I could moan about it...or I could get on and live how I can. And that's all there is to it."

He pursed his lips.

"If I don't fight it, it eats away at me and I'm worse, anyway." He said soberly. "I've tried that. I can't do anything but fight it. In the end, Shunsui, it's that which is going to make me a Shinigami. That and listening to Sensei's advice. I'm determined. If I don't control my spirit power, it will kill me - or it will hurt someone I'm close to. Neither of those things are options I'm willing to consider."

He held up his right hand, spreading the fingers pensively.

"Sensei said I'd wield a sword, one day, in this hand." He added. "If I learnt to manage what potential I have and thought carefully about how I affect those around me. And that's what I intend to do. It's not just for my sake, after all. It's for the Districts, isn't it? You've tried to drum that into me too - and so did Anideshi. If I succeed, others can succeed. So I'll succeed. That's the one thing I decided, that night when you were fighting fever and I couldn't sleep. That whatever happened, I would succeed."

"You'll drag me along with you, right?" Shunsui eyed him hopefully, and Juushirou grinned.

"Of course." He agreed. "That's for sure. We're a team. Aren't we?"

"I suppose so." Shunsui acknowledged, returning the grin. "Team Stupid. Right?"

Juushirou chuckled, nodding his head.

"That's right." He agreed. "That's exactly what we are."

"But even if you put it like that, Juu, you won't change one thing." Shunsui said frankly. "What you do - how much you achieve - it seems pretty phenomenal to me."

He shrugged gingerly.

"Maybe this has been a good thing, in one way." He added. "I see it a little bit more clearly from your perspective."

"I was thinking, last night." Juushirou admitted. "As time goes on...one day there might be situations where our lives are in jeopardy again, Shunsui. When we're really fighting for not just our lives, but other people's lives too. Did you ever stop and really think of that? We've said it loads of times, I know...but having your life in the balance made me consider it even more. It makes me wonder...will we ever be in a position where we can make the right decisions every time?"

"Nobody makes the right decision every time." Shunsui said wisely. "And there will always be people like Seimaru who cheat the rules. That's probably how it's going to be from now on till we die. If we become Shinigami - that's the kind of life it's going to be."

"You sound resigned." Juushirou looked surprised, and Shunsui shook his head.

"I'm not resigned." He admitted. "But I realised I don't want to die yet. And I don't want to see other people die, either. You said if you don't like something, change it. Maybe I'm starting to understand that. Even a tiny little bit is enough for now. I realised if the Clan system wasn't so corrupt, Seimaru would be arraigned for Megumi's murder and his role in everything else. He won't be, because things are like they are. If he'd been arraigned, what happened in the town wouldn't have happened. So in the end...in the end someone does have to do something, don't they? If everyone just walks away from it..."

"That's why Sensei set up the Academy. It's why we're here." Juushirou told him, and Shunsui grinned.

"It's why you're here." He corrected. "_I'm_ here because I need to learn sense and discipline."

"The end result is still the same." Juushirou pointed out. "We're still learning to be catalysts for change, aren't we? To stop Hollows hurting people. To save souls. To make a difference."

"Your idealism always makes me jealous." Shunsui admitted. "That even now you can see it so simply. But I guess...that's your strength too. That you believe in things."

"But I'm going to try not to be so idealistic." Juushirou said firmly. "From now on at least. Sensei said I needed to understand the Clans without being tainted by them. That's my aim from hereon in. And you can help me."

"If that's what you want, though you might not like it." Shunsui grimaced. "Still, at least there's one thing I can do. When I'm allowed back home, you can come with me. And see it first hand - what it is to be a Noble son."

"Would your family mind?" Juushirou looked doubtful, and Shunsui shook his head.

"Nii-sama likes you." He replied. "So really, it'll be fine."

Juushirou smiled.

"Then I'll take you home to meet mine, too, sometime." He promised. "If you wanted."

"I'd like that a lot." Shunsui's eyes twinkled. "I'm curious about this brood of Ukitake chibis you have swarming around the Sixth District coast. If I wouldn't be in anyone's way, I'd like to meet the people you call yours."

"Then I'll ask Okaasama in my next letter." Juushirou decided. "And see what she says. I can't imagine she'd mind. She was worried about me making friends, after all."

"One worry she really need not have had." Shunsui observed wryly. "All right. Then it's settled."

He paused for a minute, glancing at his hands, then,

"Fever is a strange thing." He murmured. "And I really _don't_ remember a lot from that night, but there was one thing I wanted to talk to you about, too. I thought about it a lot yesterday - telling Mother or someone but...somehow it didn't seem to make sense then. I'm not sure if it does now - but while we're sharing..."

He faltered, and Juushirou nodded.

"Shoot." He said simply. "I'm listening."

I remember fleeting glimpses of a hallucination when I was under." Shunsui said slowly. "I don't know where it came from or what it was - maybe it was the manifestation of Seimaru's curse inside of me, or something like that. I don't recall it clearly...just a creature. A black, bat-winged, skeletal creature...with glowing red fireball eyes."

"That sounds more like a nightmare than a hallucination." Juushirou looked concerned. "I've had a lot of delirious fevers, but I don't remember ever seeing a bat demon."

"Well, you said yourself that everyone is different." Shunsui faltered for a moment, then he sighed, looking rueful.

"I think it was as though the curse awoke all my negativity. My doubts and fears all flooded over me and I wanted to run away." He murmured. "I only remember being as scared as that once in my life before, and that was my...when my Father died, and I felt it - his reiatsu and his fear and despair and pain and everything flood through me as he died. I wanted to run away then too, but there was nowhere to go. And there wasn't this time, either."

He sighed.

"Maybe that's what it awoke inside of me. Some deep, dark childhood trauma." He said ruefully. "But this monster...this creature...it wouldn't let me. It frightened me - it really frightened me, more than the fire or anything else I remember. And it was abusive - it said horrible things, even if I don't remember exactly what they were. Things that burrowed right through me. But it didn't want me to die. It wanted to torture me, maybe...but it wouldn't let me just die."

"Did you mention it to Unohana-sensei?"

"No. It sounds crazy. It is crazy." Shunsui sighed. "So don't you do so either, okay? It's between us. Telling you still makes it seem crazy, but I thought you at least wouldn't laugh. And whatever it was - Death's agent, Seimaru's curse or just a figment of fevered imagination - I'm sure that it blocked the way between me and dying."

"I guess maybe there are Shinigami somewhere which come for the Shinigami, too." Juushirou reflected pensively, and Shunsui snorted.

"That one's too deep for me in this state." He warned. "Let's not go philosophising now, okay? I'm still woozy and unsteady here."

Juushirou laughed.

"You're a lot better already though, even if you are still sore." He reflected, relief in his gaze as he reached over to touch his friend's brow. "And you're a lot cooler, too."

"Yes. I'll heal." Shunsui agreed. "I'm not prone to illness, and Unohana-sensei says rest and her remedies should fix me up good as new. So don't worry about me. I'll be so sick of being sick by the time I'm thrown out of here I'll be ready to actually work."

"Which is when I'll start to worry about you." Juushirou teased, getting to his feet. "All right. I'll go and report back to the others that you're very much still clinging on to life. And people will come visit you more, now, I promise. Because convalescence is boring…as I know only too well!"

* * *

"I have been waiting for you, Seimaru."

As Seimaru crossed the stone floor of his Grandmother's chamber, a taut, icy voice cut through his senses and he froze, the hairs rising on the back of his neck as he registered the prickle of frozen reiatsu that suddenly seemed to swell and fade though the room.

"I have received a message from District One, and another from the Head of District Eight." The old woman spoke slowly, sharp eyes piercing through her visitor as he approached her seat, and he sank unwillingly to the ground before her, bowing his head.

"You have no business releasing your sword in foreign territory, nor attacking people there." His grandmother continued, her words soft yet full of cold intent. "Do you understand, boy, the consequences of casting your careless curses on the heirs of neighbouring Clans?"

"I was not attempting to curse the Kyouraku boy, Grandmother." Seimaru spoke sullenly, inwardly resenting every word he spoke. "I am sorry if such news brought you distress. The blast was aimed at another - a lowborn boy of little consequence whose death would have mattered nothing to anyone."

"Then you had even less reason to kill him." The old woman was not fooled. "And even so, to release your blade..."

"I was fought by the jezebel who left District Seven and sought to humiliate me."

"She did a good job, from all accounts." Came the scathing response. "Fortunately for you, the boy has not died of his wounds and appears to have borne out your curse. Had it been different, be in no doubt about the outcome for you. We do not want war with our neighbours. Your Grandfather would have agreed with me - if Tokutarou had demanded you, we would have handed you over without hesitation."

"But..."

Seimaru's head shot up at this, and the old woman's eyes narrowed to near slits, as she raised an old, wrinkled hand to cut him off mid-flow.

"There is no room for argument." She said coldly, glaring at her grandson with an unpleasant glint in her cold blue eyes.

"I know, Seimaru, the kind of games you boys like to play, but this has gone far enough. Your actions have made me question further what little pieces I know about your recent activities in other areas. Had I known more of it sooner, I would have stopped it then - but as it is, I will do so now. Do you understand the risk you put this Clan in, when you dabble in the kind of thing that may yet bring the Shihouin to its knees?"

"Experimentation is something we've done for a long time, Obaasama." Seimaru said softly. "I didn't think..."

"You never do think." His grandmother cut across him frankly, and Seimaru winced at the ice in her tones. "Only a clear fool or a madman would plot the assassination of a man like Genryuusai-sama and assume that the outcome could be anything but disaster!"

The icy reiatsu whipped once more through the chamber, then,

"This is why in my life-time you will never become leader of this Clan, my boy." She said darkly, every word seeming to echo through Seimaru's soul to its core. "Not even if I have to live another hundred years - do you understand me? Experimentation is one thing, but when it spreads beyond these doors...the Endou-ke are a proud people and they do not forgive stupidity any more than they forgive betrayal."

"Obaasama, I..."

"If I had been younger, I would have dealt with you myself." The old woman interrupted him again, raising her thin frame from her seat slightly as she bore her gaze into his. "As it is, however, your Grandfather seems to believe there is still hope for you yet. For you to lose your fiancée in such a humiliating manner and for you to submit to the Yamamoto-ke's extremely lenient ban is enough, I think, for now. You must learn to be a man, Seimaru, else you will do nothing for your family but take it to Hell and back."

Seimaru gazed at her helplessly, and the old woman nodded her head.

"You _do_ understand." She murmured. "The other Clans are not our friends, but there is no reason to make them enemies. Enemies are suspicious. They pry. They want to know what is going on - and they make life difficult for us to move in the way to which we are accustomed. You have seen it, have you not? The sealing of the border with Eighth District since your foolish Father got involved in the troubles of the Kyouraku-ke some four or five years ago? Now you have broken any chance of cooperation with the Yamamoto-ke for some time to come, and I imagine that alliances with the Shihouin-ke will be more strained than they were before. You should think before you act, my boy. Otherwise you will find yourself dead before you begin."

She lifted her wrinkled, skeletal hand, resting it pensively against the scabbard that lay on the unit beside her, and despite her frailty the blade within glowed with an ominous silver light.

"I may be old and ill, but I still have the power to dispatch someone who doesn't understand the true needs of this family." She said softly. "Your Father was a fool and he is no longer here to be foolish. Do not make the same mistakes as he did, Seimaru. If you want to live to be Head of this Clan, you should learn now what those requirements are."

"Father...?" Seimaru's eyes widened, staring at the old woman in horror. "Obaasama, you mean...that fight was..."

"Your Father was a reckless boy even as a child, and dove into things without looking for traps and danger." His companion withdrew her fingers, folding her hands in her lap as she gazed at him evenly. "I did not arrange for his death, no. I would not do that to my own child, even one who was as stupid and blind as he was. But I did not move to prevent it, knowing as I did that his loss would be no loss to this Clan overall. This is the last time I will warn you too, Seimaru. Learn from it. Next time you are in danger, I will not even give you this much warning. And if you die like your Father, I will not grieve. You are _not_ my child, after all. You were brought into the world by a simpleton whose heritage I disdain in this Clan's bloodline. And I feel no need to be overly connected to one to which this body did not give birth."

She smiled, a faint smile that did not reach her steely blue eyes, flicking her fingers towards the door of the chamber.

"You are dismissed." She said softly. "Go and think on what I've said. There will be no more games here, not now. Your Grandfather has already begun to move to dismantle the laboratory and your scientist Aizen has already fled this place. You have nothing to do now but ponder on your future within this Clan - and how you can live up to the expectations of your ancestors."

Seimaru did not respond, anger and resentment burning up inside of him as he formally bowed his head to the aging matriarch, withdrawing from the chamber and sliding the door shut behind him.

_To be told such things by an old, decaying woman whose grip on life is arrogantly tenuous! How much longer must I deal with her – how much longer is Grandfather going to pander to her ways?_

He paced bad-temperedly along the corridors, pausing for a moment at the door that led down to the secret laboratory below stairs. The door was, for once, somewhat ajar, and he could hear the sound of voices within. Retainers, he realised with grim annoyance. So she had not been bluffing.

_That old bag told Grandfather to stem the research and stem it he has. That woman is his one weakness – and yet a weakness that tramples over all of us! Women like her…women like Midori…women the world could well do without._

He turned his back, heading up the stairs to the smaller study which had been his since he had inherited his position as heir from his late father.

"Mother was lenient on you."

As he pushed open the door, a voice from the shadows made him start, and he glanced up, anger coursing through his body as he met his Uncle's impassive gaze.

"And you can hide under her wing for only a short time, Ojisama." He spat back, stalking into the room and banging the door shut. "Or haven't you realised who truly betrayed this Clan this time?"

Misashi did not respond, his eyes hooded and darker than Seimaru had ever seen them before. In a moment he had crossed the room, resting his hands on Seimaru's shoulders and from the tightness of his grasp Seimaru realised his Uncle was angry.

"You are a foolish boy." The older man said quietly. "And you don't yet realise how costly foolishness can be. Mother spared your life – this time. Maybe not next."

"You don't scare me." Seimaru pulled free of his companion's grip. "You don't scare me at all. I can kill you – we both know it. If not for that old bag, you'd already be dead and rotting beneath the stones outside."

"Perhaps." Misashi took a step back, eying him gravely, and a sudden thought flashed across Seimaru's senses.

"_You_ let the jezebel escape District Seven, didn't you?" He demanded, an accusing note in his tones.

"I don't know what you mean." Misashi's expression was emotionless, and Seimaru cursed.

"You _are_ plotting against me. You always have and you still are." He muttered. "You and your weasel son. You know where he is now, don't you? You know that he's the one who's run borders and aligned himself with District Two?"

"Father signed a treaty of accord with the Shihouin." Misashi turned towards the desk, resting his hand on its surface. "If Hirata has spoken to the Shihouin, he has not betrayed his Clan."

"Even when that Shihouin turns on me and tries to take my life?"

"If such a thing had happened, I would have expected to hear of her arrest." Misashi offered him a faint smile. "Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni-sama is a very astute man, after all. The only report I have heard is that your careless actions almost resulted in a severe political situation between us and our neighbours in District Eight. And because of that, there is currently an embargo on all Endou-ke entering District One. Your actions are reckless and damaging…that has no connection to Hirata or the Shihouin-ke."

"Hirata is not here, though, despite this ban." Seimaru snapped. "That seems strange to me, considering the old man's words."

"Hirata is a student. A child. He is not a part of any of this." Misashi said evenly. "I have received word from Genryuusai-sama to tell me so. The boy will remain in District One for the considerable future – Genryuusai-sama sees his potential as a future Shinigami, and he is a fair man. He does not punish the innocent for the crimes of the guilty."

"So you think, then, that he is out of my reach?"

"I think that it would be a very foolish Clansman who would attempt to breach District One with the Yamamoto in their current frame of mind."

Seimaru's expression became hard and obstinate, and Misashi sighed.

"There was also a second letter, Seimaru." He said quietly. "Come the end of this week, the Council has been summoned to ratify Shihouin Midori's claim to District Two. We will be passing our vote in her favour, as allies of the Shihouin-ke should."

"But…" Seimaru's eyes widened, and Misashi's lips became a thin, straight line.

"The only way to avoid shame at a broken betrothal is if a conflict of interests exists – and both of you being leaders or potential leaders creates one such conflict." He said quietly. "Father considers it a prudent action, therefore…and I agree with him. You will not oppose it – do you understand?"

"Who are you to give me such orders?"

"I have heard from Shihouin Midori, as well as Genryuusai-sama." Misashi said blackly. "Aside from her clear views regarding her engagement to you, she has intimated to me quite strongly in her message that significant physical evidence exists to tie you in to the chemical experiments the Shihouin elders are currently being investigated over. Evidence in the form of a letter written in your hand and found in the possession of Aitori Hideaki – a man she executed as a traitor to her Clan. We both know those allegations – and others besides – are founded in truth. Whether the girl truly has such evidence – as she claims – I do not know. But what I do know is that this Clan cannot risk calling her bluff. She is a Shihouin, after all. They are known for their work in shadows."

With that he turned on his heel, leaving the study, and left alone, Seimaru felt his anger and frustration swelling within his young heart.

"_There is still proof against you. I know, because I've __seen__ it. A letter you sent to Aitori-sensei before he died. A letter he didn't have time to destroy. A letter that could bring your Clan down around you, and see you facing the Council in a far worse way than any of the Shihouin-ke will."_

Juushirou's words pierced through his thoughts at that moment, angry hazel eyes burning into him as if somehow the boy had seen right through to his core. A lowborn, District-born wretch – a worthless, throwaway life who had dared to be so rude to him…and yet…

"Proof." He whispered, his brows knitting together. "Very well then. If that's how the game plays, I'll play it. Grandfather may think it prudent to clear out the laboratory, but the people he displaces he is still under oath to protect. Aizen will no doubt make contact when the dust has settled…as he's done before. He knows, after all, that working for the Endou-ke is more lucrative than working for himself. So we'll give it time. We'll wait. If that's how things are, then that's what we'll do."

His eyes narrowed to near slits, as he felt the flare of his _zanpakutou_'s spirit burn through him, echoing his own resolve.

"And if District boys think they can stop me with empty ideals and worthless accusations, well, I'll prove their folly." He muttered. "It's only just begun, Ukitake Juushirou. If there's proof, then I'll burn that proof – if people get in my way, I will eliminate them. Don't think that this is over – not by a long way. My curse missed you this time – but believe me, next time neither you nor that traitor Hirata will be quite so happy that you decided to cross the heir to the Endou-ke!"

_**::Second Manuscript: Owari::**_

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_**Author's Note:**_

_Yep, that's it. The end. For now at least. Phew. It was nine chapters longer than I intended – blame Juu for that._

_  
I don't know right now if there will be another sequel. The end of this story is set up for one, and I have been dabbling with ideas but…I don't know. Hrm. Decisions, decisions…I'd like to have something more complete before anything gets uploaded XD.  
_

_Thank you to everyone who's supported the fic and I hope it hasn't disappointed! I've had a lot of fun with it and I hope people reading have too!_


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